A chimeric design of heterospin 2p-3d, 2p-4f, and 2p-3d-4f complexes using a novel family of paramagnetic dissymmetric compartmental ligands.

End-off bicompartmental ligands bearing a nitronyl-nitroxide arm have been designed for synthesizing various heterospin molecular systems. These ligands can selectively interact with 3d and 4f metal ions, leading to 2p-4f, 2p-3d, and 2p-3d-4f complexes. The magnetic properties of the 2p-4f and 2p-3d-4f complexes have been investigated and rationalized by theoretical calculations.