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• Encapsulation of the magnetic quasi-two-dimensional system Cu(en)(H 2 O) 2 SO 4 in SBA-15. • Weakening of magnetic correlations after encapsulation. • Analysis of the EPR line shape confirmed significant magnetic dilution. In this work, we present an experimental study to find the optimal way of encapsulation of the magnetic quasi-two-dimensional system Cu(en)(H 2 O) 2 SO 4 (en = ethylenediamine = C 2 H 8 N 2) in mesoporous silica SBA-15 with hexagonal pore morphology with a pore size of 5 nm. Our main goal is to achieve the most significant possible degree of pore filling and to study the effect of encapsulation of complex Cu(en)(H 2 O) 2 SO 4 in SBA-15 silica on the magnetic properties of the studied complex by means of electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and magnetization measurements. It was found that the adsorption equilibrium during the adsorption of the Cu(en)(H 2 O) 2 SO 4 complex from the solution to SBA-15 was reached after only 24 h, and the samples prepared by adsorption for a longer time (72 h, 14 days) did not show an increased amount of the loaded complex. The degree of pore filling represents around 60 % of the total volume of internal pores. The analysis of temperature dependence of susceptibility, the field dependence of magnetization, and EPR spectra showed that due to the encapsulation of Cu(en)(H 2 O) 2 SO 4 complex in mesoporous silica, the magnetic correlations between Cu(II) ions are significantly weakened, yielding paramagnetic behavior in the studied system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Magnetization, susceptibility and specific heat experimentally investigated. • Only g -factor anisotropy is responsible for anisotropy in all data. • All data resemble main features of antiferromagnetic dimer model. • Field-induced ordered state stabilized between 6.5 T and 11 T. • Assumption of a dome shape magnetic diagram due to strong dimerization. Magnetic susceptibility, magnetization and specific heat of powder and single crystal of Cu(en) 2 SO 4 were investigated. The analysis of the data confirmed that Cu(en) 2 SO 4 can be treated as a quasi-two-dimensional array of magnetic dimers with singlet-ground state persisting up to about 6.5 T. Magnetization and susceptibility studies were performed in the singlet phase and the analysis revealed that g -factor anisotropy is the main mechanism responsible for the different behavior in the magnetic field applied along the b and c axis. The investigation of powder and single crystal specific heat in magnetic fields applied along all three crystallographic directions revealed only small anisotropy associated with the g -factor anisotropy. All mentioned data sets resemble main features of the spin 1/2 HAF dimer model with J / k B = -5.52 K. The observed deviations can be ascribed to the presence of inter-dimer interactions with the effective strength z'J' / k B = -2.7 K. In fields above 6.5 T the system passes from the singlet phase to the ordered state stable up to about 11 T. The expectation of a dome shape magnetic phase diagram is based on the strong dimerization of the magnetic lattice. Future experiments and calculations are discussed to identify the origin of the quantum phase transition associated with the gap closing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analysis of specific heat, magnetic susceptibility and magnetization identified the studied compound Cu[C 6 H 2 (COO) 4 ][H 3 N–(CH 2) 2 –NH 3 ]·3H 2 O as a quasi-two-dimensional S = 1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the rectangular lattice with the intrachain coupling J 1 /k B ≈ 7.39 K and the interaction ratio R ≈ 0.44. A phase transition to a magnetically ordered state was observed in zero magnetic field at T N = 1.28 K. The analysis of magnetic specific heat in non-zero magnetic fields revealed features characteristic of the field-induced Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless phase transition theoretically predicted for ideal two-dimensional magnets. The electron paramagnetic resonance studies of Cu[C 6 H 2 (COO) 4 ][H 3 N–(CH 2) 2 –NH 3 ]·3H 2 O revealed the increase of g x and g y and decrease of g z below 25 K due to the presence of dipolar coupling and the exchange anisotropy. The upturn of linewidth appearing below 30 K can be ascribed to the development of intralayer magnetic correlations. • The system represents S = 1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the rectangular lattice. • A phase transition to a magnetically ordered state occurs in B = 0 T at T N = 1.28 K. • The field-induced Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless phase transition was observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]