A proton conductor showing an indication of single-ion magnet behavior based on a mononuclear Dy() complex

• Published in: Journal of materials chemistry. C, Materials for optical and electronic devices Vol. 9; no. 2; pp. 481 - 488
• Main Authors: Zhu, Shui-Dong, Dong, Lu, Hu, Jun-Jie, Wen, He-Rui, Lu, Ying-Bing, Deng, Wei-Hua, Liu, Cai-Ming, Liu, Sui-Jun, Xu, Gang, Fu, Zhi-Hua
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge Royal Society of Chemistry 01.01.2021
• Subjects: Conductivity; Conductors; Crystallography; Data storage; Donors (electronic); Format; Fuel cells; Nuclear fuels; Proton conduction; Relative humidity; Water chemistry
• ISSN: 2050-7526; 2050-7534
• DOI: 10.1039/d0tc04423g

Crystalline molecular materials exhibiting both proton conduction and single-molecule magnet (SMM) behavior would offer great opportunities for applications in fuel cell, molecular spintronic, and high-density data storage technologies. However, such kinds of materials have rarely been reported. Herein, the first example of a mononuclear proton-conductive Dy III -SMM, namely [Dy(H 2 bim) 2 (H 2 O) 2 (NO 3 ) 2 ](NO 3 ) ( 1 ) (H 2 bim = 2,2′-biimidazole), was synthesized and characterized. Complex 1 displays high proton conductivity ( σ ) of 1.16 × 10 −3 S cm −1 at 35 °C and 100% relative humidity (RH). The 1D H-bonding network, with 2,2′-biimidazole and coordinated water molecules acting as H-bonding donors and nitrate anions (NO 3 − ) acting as H-bonding acceptors, plays a dominant role in allowing this high conductivity. Magnetic studies indicated that complex 1 exhibits single-ion magnet behavior. Crystalline molecular materials exhibiting both proton conduction and single-molecule magnet (SMM) behavior would offer great opportunities for applications in fuel cell, molecular spintronic, and high-density data storage technologies.