title: Mixed alkali metal/transition metal coordination polymers with the mellitic acid hexaanion: 2-dimensional hexagonal magnetic nets.
abstract: The hexaanion of mellitic acid, mel = (C(6)(CO(2))(6))(6-), links metal ions into extensively connected magnetic coordination polymers. Reaction of alkali metal mellitate salts, M(6)(mel) (M = K, Rb), with M'Cl(2) precursors (M' = Mn, Co, Ni) under mild (473 K) hydrothermal conditions yields an extensive family of isostructural 3-dimensional mixed alkali metal/transition metal polymers of general formula M(2)[M'(2)(mel)(OH(2))(2)] (M/M' = K/Mn (1a); K/Co (1b); K/Ni (1c); Rb/Mn (2a); Rb/Co (2b); Rb/Ni (2c)). These materials incorporate distorted 2-dimensional magnetic hexagonal nets with a honeycomb topology that are exclusively based on metal-carboxylate-metal bridging interactions. A further isostructural alkali metal-free Co(2+) material with NH(4)(+) cations, (NH(4))(2)[Co(2)(mel)(OH(2))(2)] (3), produced by reaction of H(6)mel with [Co(NH(3))(6)]Cl(3) is also presented. The magnetic susceptibility data for 1a-c, 2a-c, and 3 are presented. The susceptibility data for the Mn(II)- and Ni(II)-containing phases have been analyzed using a simple Mean Field Theory approach, and have been modeled using a high temperature series expansion. The comparative magnetism of the Co(II) phases is also presented, and is more complicated because of significant spin-orbit coupling effects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station A5300, Austin, Texas 78712, USA. smh@cm.utexas.edu
authors.forename: Simon M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Humphrey
authors.forename: Richard A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Mole
authors.forename: Richard I
authors.initials: RI
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.forename: Paul T
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Wood