Coligand modifications fine-tuned the structure and magnetic properties of two triple-bridged azido-Cu(ii) chain compounds exhibiting ferromagnetic ordering and slow relaxation.

Employing two benzoate derivatives with different numbers of non-coordinated fluoro-substituents, 2-fluorobenzoic acid (2-Hfba) and 2,6-difluorobenzoic acid (2,6-Hdfba), two new azido-copper coordination polymers, [Cu(2-fba)(N3)(CH3OH)]n (1) and [Cu(2,6-dfba)(N3)(CH3OH)]n (2), have been successfully isolated, and then structurally and magnetically investigated. Single crystal structure analysis demonstrates that the metal cations in the two resulting compounds are connected by the alternating triple-bridge of μ-1,1-azido, syn,syn-carboxylate and μ2-methanol, contributing to analogously linear 1D Cu(ii) chain-like motifs with slightly different intrachain and interchain geometric parameters. The fine-tuned structures lead to variant magnetic properties in the two title compounds. Although a dominant ferromagnetic coupling between adjacent Cu(ii) ions within each chain due to the counter-complementarity of the multiple superexchange pathways is observed in both compounds, the interesting plots of magnetic ordering and slow magnetic relaxation, which are rare in most of the reported azido-Cu(ii) architectures, only occur in compound 1, while 2 behaves as an antiferromagnet consisting of ferromagnetic Cu(ii) chains. The heat-capacity experiments further emphasize the characteristic long-range ferromagnetic ordering in 1 and the typical behavior of antiferromagnets in 2. Moreover, density functional theory (DFT) calculations (using different methods and basis sets) have been performed on both compounds to obtain the qualitatively theoretical interpretation of the magnetic behaviors.