Single-ion magnet and luminescent properties in a Dy(III) triangular dodecahedral complex.

Abstract In 2016, our group first reported a single-ion magnet (SIM) [Dy(bbpen)Br] (H 2 bbpen = N , N ′‑bis(2‑hydroxybenzyl)‑ N , N ′‑bis(2‑methylpyridyl)ethylenediamine) with the highest effective energy barrier (U eff) over 1000 K. To explore further for the high performance single-ion magnets (SIMs), we used functional ligand to replace the Br− anion. The H 2 bbpen and 4′‑(1,2,2‑triphenylvinyl)benzoic acid (tpe-COOH) ligand with aggregation-induced-emission-active (AIE) property, formed a triangular dodecahedral SIM, [Dy(bbpen)(tpe-COOH)]⋅2MeOH. The structural, magnetic and luminescent properties of the SIM have been investigated. Related to its lower local symmetry around Dy(III) ion, the U eff was sharply reduced to 77 K under an external dc field of 0.15 T. Therefore, it proved the importance of local symmetry to get the high performance SIMs from the opposite side. Graphical abstract A Dy(III) triangular dodecahedral complex based on H 2 bbpen and tpe-COOH ligands has been synthesized, which exhibited field-induced single-ion magnet behavior. Unlabelled Image Highlights • A Dy(III) triangular dodecahedral complex based on H 2 bbpen and tpe-COOH ligands has been synthesized. • It exhibited field-induced single-ion magnet behavior. • It proved the importance of local symmetry to get the high performance single-ion magnet from the opposite side. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]