Layered Iron(III) and Cobalt(II) Phosphonates Decorated by Hydrophilic Sulfone Groups: Syntheses, Structures and Magnetic Properties

Hydrothermal reactions of FeIII or CoII ion with dimethyl methylsulfonomethanephosphonate afforded two novel layered transition metal phosphonates containing oxo-bridging hydroxides (H2O or OH−) as coligands, namely, [Fe(L)(OH)(H2O)] (1) and [Co4(L)4(H2O)4]·2H2O (2) (H2L = CH3SO2CH2PO3H2). Magnetic property studies reveal that spin-canting and metamagnetic behaviors coexist in complex 2 with a Tc of 7.0 K.