New Family of Lanthanide-Based Complexes with Different Scorpionate-Type Ligands: A Rare Case Where Dysprosium and Ytterbium Analogues Display Single-Ion-Magnet Behavior

A new
family of lanthanide complexes [Ln­(Tpz)2Bpz]·xCH2Cl2 (Ln = Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, x = 0.5; Ln = Yb, x = 1; Tpz = hydrotris­(pyrazolyl)­borate;
Bpz = dihydrobis­(pyrazolyl)­borate) has been synthesized. Those complexes
have been characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, and the
magnetic properties have been investigated. Both dysprosium and ytterbium
analogues display single-ion-magnet behavior, despite the difference
in their spatial distribution of 4f electronic charges. Theoretical
calculations with crystal field parameters have been carried out to
gain better insight of the relaxation pathways that may be involved
in those two complexes.