Syntheses, Structures and Magnetic Properties of M2 (M = Fe, Co) Complexes with N6 Coordination Environment: Field-Induced Slow Magnetic Relaxation in Co2

Two dinuclear complexes [M2(H2L)2](ClO4)4·2MeCN (M = Co for Co2 and Fe for Fe2) were synthesized using a symmetric hydrazone ligand with the metal ions in an N6 coordination environment. The crystal structures and magnetic properties were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and magnetic susceptibility measurements. The crystal structure study revealed that the spin centers were all in the high-spin state with a distorted octahedron (Oh) geometry. Dynamic magnetic properties measurements revealed that complex Co2 exhibited field-induced single-molecule magnet properties with two-step relaxation in which the fast relaxation path was from QTM and the slow relaxation path from the thermal relaxation under an applied field.