Conjunction of chirality and slow magnetic relaxation in the supramolecular network constructed of crossed cyano-bridged Co(II)-W(V) molecular chains.

The addition of chiral 2,2'-(2,6-pyridinediyl)bis(4-isopropyl-2-oxazoline) (iPr-Pybox) to a self-assembled Co(II)–[W(V)(CN)(8)] magnetic system gives two enantiomorphic cyano-bridged chains, {Co(II)((S,S)-iPr-Pybox)(MeOH)W(V)(CN)(8)·5.5MeOH·0.5H(2)O}(n) (1-SS) and {Co(II)((R,R)-iPr-Pybox) (MeOH)W(V)(CN)(8)·5.5MeOH·0.5H(2)O}(n) (1-RR). Both compounds crystallize with a structure containing a unique crossed arrangement of one-dimensional chains that form a microporous supramolecular network with large channels (14.9 Å × 15.1 Å × 15.3 Å) filled with methanol. The investigated materials exhibited optical chirality, as confirmed by natural circular dichroism and UV-vis absorption spectra. 1-(SS) and 1-(RR) are paramagnets with cyano-mediated Co(II)-W(V) magnetic couplings that lead to a specific spin arrangement with half of the W(V) ions coupled ferromagnetically with their Co(II) neighbors and the other half coupled antiferromagnetically. Significant magnetic anisotropy with the easy axis along the [101] direction was confirmed by single-crystal magnetic studies and can be explained by the single-ion anisotropy of elongated octahedral Co(II) sites. Below 3 K, the frequency-dependent χ(M)"(T) signal indicated slow magnetic relaxation characteristic of single-chain magnets.