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Research has been conducted on the cyano-bridged copper(II) and nickel(II) homodinuclear complexes. The synthesis and structural characterization of these complexes have been carried out and described.

Following a bottom-up approach to nanomaterials, we present a rational synthetic route from hexacyanometalates [M(CN)(6)](3-) (M=Cr(III), Co(III)) cores to well-defined heptanuclear complexes. By changing the nature of the metallic cations and using a localised orbital model it is possible to control and to tune the ground state spin value. Thus, with M=Cr(III), d(3), S=3/2, three heptanuclear species were built and characterised by mass spectrometry in solution, by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and by powder magnetic susceptibility measurements, [Cr(III)(CNbondM'L(n))(6)](9+) (M'=Cu(II), Ni(II), Mn(II), L(n)=polydentate ligand), showing spin ground states S(G)=9/2 [Cu(II)], with ferromagnetic interactions J(Cr,Cu)=+45 cm(-1), S(G)=15/2 [Ni(II)] and J(Cr,Ni)=+17.3 cm(-1), S(G)=27/2 [Mn(II)], with an antiferromagnetic interaction J(Cr,Mn)=-9 cm(-1), (interaction Hamiltonian H=-J(Cr,M) [S(Cr)Sigma(i)S(M)(i)], i=1-6). With M=Co(III), d(6), S=0, the heptanuclear analogues [Co(III)(CN-M'L(n))(6)](9+) (M'=Cu(II), Ni(II), Mn(II)) were similarly synthesised and studied. They present a singlet ground state and allow us to evaluate the weak antiferromagnetic coupling constant between two next-nearest neighbours M'-Co-M'.

Following a bottom-up approach to nanomaterials, we present a rational synthetic route to high-spin and anisotropic molecules based on hexacyanometalate [M(CN)(6)](3-) cores. Part 1 of this series was devoted to isotropic heptanuclear clusters; herein, we discuss the nuclearity and the structural anisotropy of nickel(II) derivatives. By changing either the stoichiometry, the nature of the terminal ligand, or the counterion, it is possible to tune the nuclearity of the polynuclear compounds and therefore to control the structural anisotropy. We present the synthesis and the characterisation by mass spectrometry, X-ray crystallography and magnetic susceptibility of bi-, tri-, tetra-, hexa- and heptanuclear species [M(CN)(n)(CN-M'L)(6-n)](m+) (with n=0-5; M=Cr(III), Co(III), M'=Ni(II); L=pentadentate ligand). Thus, with M=Cr(III), d(3), S=3/2, a dinuclear complex [Cr(III)(CN)(5)(CN-NiL(n))](9+), (L(n)=polydentate ligand) was built and characterised, showing a spin ground state, S(G)=5/2, with a ferromagnetic interaction J(Cr,Cu)=+18.5 cm(-1). With M=Co(III) (d(6), S=0) were built di-, tri-, tetra-, hexa and hepanuclear CoNi species: CoNi, CoNi(2), CoNi(3), CoNi(5) and CoNi(6). By a first approximation, they behave as one, two, three, five and six isolated nickel(II) complexes, respectively, but more accurate studies allow us to evaluate the weak antiferromagnetic coupling constant between two next-nearest neighbours M'-Co-M'.