title: Co-Ln mixed-metal phosphonate grids and cages as molecular magnetic refrigerants.
abstract: The synthesis, structures, and magnetic properties of six families of cobalt-lanthanide mixed-metal phosphonate complexes are reported in this Article. These six families can be divided into two structural types: grids, where the metal centers lie in a single plane, and cages. The grids include [4 × 3] {Co(8)Ln(4)}, [3 × 3] {Co(4)Ln(6)}, and [2 × 2] {Co(4)Ln(2)} families and a [4 × 4] {Co(8)Ln(8)} family where the central 2 × 2 square is rotated with respect to the external square. The cages include {Co(6)Ln(8)} and {Co(8)Ln(2)} families. Magnetic studies have been performed for these compounds, and for each family, the maximum magnetocaloric effect (MCE) has been observed for the Ln = Gd derivative, with a smaller MCE for the compounds containing magnetically anisotropic 4f-ions. The resulting entropy changes of the gadolinium derivatives are (for 3 K and 7 T) 11.8 J kg(-1) K(-1) for {Co(8)Gd(2)}; 20.0 J kg(-1) K(-1) for {Co(4)Gd(2)}; 21.1 J kg(-1) K(-1) for {Co(8)Gd(4)}; 21.4 J kg(-1) K(-1) for {Co(8)Gd(8)}; 23.6 J kg(-1) K(-1) for {Co(4)Gd(6)}; and 28.6 J kg(-1) K(-1) for {Co(6)Gd(8)}, from which we can see these values are proportional to the percentage of the gadolinium in the core.
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, M13 9PL, Manchester, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Yan-Zhen
authors.initials: YZ
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Evangelisti
authors.forename: Floriana
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tuna
authors.forename: Richard E P
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Winpenny