The assembly of N′-(amino-(pyrimidin-2-yl)methylene)-o-vanilloyl hydrazine ligands (H2L, Scheme 1) with different lanthanide perchlorates produces novel Y-shaped tetranuclear complexes, [Ln4(μ3-OH)(L2−)4(H2O)6]·(ClO4)3·6H2O, where Ln = Tb (1), Dy (2) and Ho (3). The formation of this unprecedented Y-shaped topology is largely ascribed to the versatility of the mixed-donor hydrazone ligands in terms of their potential denticity. Analysis of the susceptibility data shows that only the Dy-based molecule features SMM-like behaviour. The synthetic methodology of employing H2L and related ligands has provided a very promising route towards new families of magnetic coordination clusters with novel metal topologies and properties.

The assembly of N′-(amino-(pyrimidin-2-yl)methylene)-o-vanilloyl hydrazine ligands (H2L, Scheme 1) with different lanthanide perchlorates produces novel Y-shaped tetranuclear complexes, [Ln4(μ3-OH)(L2−)4(H2O)6]·(ClO4)3·6H2O, where Ln = Tb (1), Dy (2) and Ho (3). The formation of this unprecedented Y-shaped topology is largely ascribed to the versatility of the mixed-donor hydrazone ligands in terms of their potential denticity. Analysis of the susceptibility data shows that only the Dy-based molecule features SMM-like behaviour. The synthetic methodology of employing H2L and related ligands has provided a very promising route towards new families of magnetic coordination clusters with novel metal topologies and properties.