Accompanied by condensation cyclization reactions in
solvothermal
conditions, three Gd(III) tetranuclear clusters {[Gd4(L
x
)2(μ3-OH)2(NO3)2(Ac)6]} (x = 1, 2, and 3 for 1, 2, and 3, respectively) were isolated and characterized, wherein, L1–3 were in situ synthesized from bis[3-(pyridin-2-yl)-1H-1,2,4-triazole-5-yl]methane
(bptm), 5-bptm (bis[3-(5-methylpyridin-2-yl)-1H-1,2,4-triazole-5-yl]methane),
and 4-bptm (bis[3-(4-methylpyridin-2-yl)-1H-1,2,4-triazole-5-yl]methane)
in the presence of GdIII ions, respectively. The step-by-step
formation process (bptm → L1 → Gd1(L1)1 → Gd2(L1)1 → Gd2(L1)2 →
Gd3(L1)2 → Gd4(L1)2) of the tetranuclear clusters in 1 was tracked by mass spectrometry technology. The study of their
magnetic properties showed that 1–3 displayed significant magnetocaloric effects with the −ΔS
m values of 29.25–29.64 J K–1 kg–1.