A new 2D dysprosium layer compound has been successfully synthesized from reaction with 2-(3-pyridyl) pyrimidine-4-carboxylic acid (H3-py-4-pmc), in which the Dy 3+ ions reside in square antiprismatic coordination environments and are connected by carboxylate/oxalate/hydroxyl bridges. Magnetic studies reveal ferromagnetic interactions between Dy 3+ ions, slow magnetic relaxation with an effective energy barrier U eff of 186 K under zero dc field and pronounced hysteresis loops at low temperatures. Further dilution magnetic study suggests that the slow magnetic relaxation originates from the single-ion magnetic behavior of Dy 3+ ion and that magnetic coupling suppresses the quantum tunneling of magnetization at low temperature. In addition, theoretical calculation indicates strong Ising anisotropy of the Dy 3+ ion that is due to the strong interaction between Dy 3+ ions and hydroxyl groups.
†Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. CCDC 1048230 and 1048231. For ESI and crystallographic data in CIF or other electronic format see DOI: 10.1039/c5sc00491h