Structural and physical properties of the ferromagnetic tris-dithiooxalato compounds, A[M(II)Cr(III)(C(2)S(2)O(2))(3)], with A(+) = N(n-C(n)()H(2)(n)(+1))(4)(+) (n = 3-5) and P(C(6)H(5))(4)(+) and M(II) = Mn, Fe, Co, and Ni.

Abstract

The structural and magnetic properties of the tris-dithiooxalato salts, A[M(II)Cr(C(2)S(2)O(2))(3)], have been investigated with A(+) = PPh(4)(+), N(n-C(n)()H(2)(n)()(+1))(4)(+), with n = 3-5, where M(II) is Mn, Fe, Co, and Ni. With the exception of A[MnCr(C(2)S(2)O(2))(3)], all the salts are ferromagnets with Curie temperatures, T(c), between 5 and 16 K. In contrast to the corresponding oxalates which are ferromagnetic, the A[MnCr(C(2)S(2)O(2))(3)] compounds are paramagnetic above 2 K. Powder neutron diffraction studies of d(20)-PPh(4)[FeCr(C(2)S(2)O(2))(3)] indicate that no structural phase transitions occur between 2.4 and 285 K and that the coefficient of linear expansion is four times larger for the c-axis than for the a-axis. The crystal structure refined from powder neutron diffraction data confirms the honeycomb layer arrangement observed in the related bimetallic tris-oxalate salts. The Mössbauer spectra reveal that the iron(II) in PPh(4)[FeCr(C(2)S(2)O(2))(3)] is coordinated mainly to six oxygen atoms of the dithiooxalato ligand but with a minor component of sulfur coordination that increases with aging of the sample; the iron(II) is high-spin in both cases. Powder neutron diffraction profiles of d(20)-PPh(4)[FeCr(C(2)S(2)O(2))(3)] below T(c) show magnetic intensity with a q = 0 propagation vector, confirming the presence of ferromagnetic order.