Reversible guest exchange and ferrimagnetism (T(C) = 60.5 K) in a porous cobalt(II)-hydroxide layer structure pillared with trans-1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylate.

The synthesis, characterization, and reversible guest-exchange chemistry of a new porous magnetic material that orders ferrimagnetically at 60.5 K are described. The material, Co(5)(OH)(8)(chdc).4H(2)O (chdc = trans-1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylate), contains tetrahedral-octahedral-tetrahedral Co(II)-hydroxide layers of composition Co((oct))(3)Co((tet))(2)(OH)(8) that are linked together by bis(unidentate) chdc pillars. Noncoordinated water molecules occupy 1-D channels situated between the chdc pillars. The material remains monocrystalline during dehydration from Co(5)(OH)(8)(chdc).4H(2)O (CDCC.4H(2)O) to Co(5)(OH)(8)(chdc) (CDCC) via an intermediate Co(5)(OH)(8)(chdc).2H(2)O (CDCC.2H(2)O) upon heating or evacuation. In-situ single crystal and powder X-ray diffraction analyses indicate that the interlayer spacing decreases in two steps, each corresponding to the loss of two water molecules per formula unit as determined by thermogravimetry. The single crystal structure of the fully dehydrated material, CDCC, has no void volume due to a tilting of the pillars and 9% decrease of the interlayer spacing with water removal. Exposure of CDCC to air causes rapid rehydration of this material to CDCC.4H(2)O, as determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction, powder X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetry, and vibrational spectroscopy. Both the hydrated and dehydrated forms order magnetically below 60.5 K. The susceptibility data are consistent with ferrimagnetic behavior, and the value of the saturation magnetization at 2 K (ca. 2 micro(B)) is explained by a model of two sublattices, one comprising three octahedral cobalt atoms and another comprising two tetrahedral cobalt atoms. There is an enhanced 2-D correlation within the layer at temperatures just above the Curie temperature, as seen by nonlinearity in the ac susceptibility data and remanence in the isothermal magnetization. The crossover from 2-D to 3-D ordering occurs at T(C). The large anisotropy in the magnetization data on a single crystal suggests either a 2-D Ising or an XY magnet while the critical exponent of 0.25 is in favor of the latter. Both magnetization data in a small field in the ac and dc mode and isothermal magnetization data provide evidence of a further change in behavior at 23 K, which may originate from a reorientation of the moments within the layer. Variation of the pillar and of the guest-exchange chemistry, including the exchange of magnetic guests such as O(2), offers the possibility of tailoring the magnetic properties of this material.