Solvothermal Synthesis of [Cr 7 S 8 (en) 8 Cl 2 ]Cl 3 ⋅ 2H 2 O with Magnetically Frustrated [Cr 7 S 8 ] 5+ Double‐Cubes**
Abstract A novel transition metal chalcohalide [Cr 7 S 8 (en) 8 Cl 2 ]Cl 3 ⋅ 2H 2 O, with [Cr 7 S 8 ] 5+ dicubane cationic clusters, has been synthesized by a low temperature solvothermal method, using dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and ethylenediamine ( en ) solvents. Ethylenediamine ligand exhibits bi‐ and monodentate coordination modes; in the latter case ethylenediamine coordinates to Cr atoms of adjacent clusters, giving rise to a 2D polymeric structure. Although magnetic susceptibility shows no magnetic ordering down to 1.8 K, a highly negative Weiss constant, θ =−224(2) K, obtained from Curie‐Weiss fit of inverse susceptibility, suggests strong antiferromagnetic (AFM) interactions between S =3/2 Cr(III) centers. Due to the complexity of the system with (2 S +1) 7 =16384 microstates from seven Cr 3+ centers, a simplified model with only two exchange constants was used for simulations. Density‐functional theory (DFT) calculations yielded the two exchange constants to be J 1 =−21.4 cm −1 and J 2 =−30.2 cm −1 , confirming competing AFM coupling between the shared Cr 3+ center and the peripheral Cr 3+ ions of the dicubane cluster. The best simulation of the experimental data was obtained with J 1 =−20.0 cm −1 and J 2 =−21.0 cm −1 , in agreement with the slightly stronger AFM exchange within the triangles of the peripheral Cr 3+ ions as compared to the AFM exchange between the central and peripheral Cr 3+ ions. This compound is proposed as a synthon towards magnetically frustrated systems assembled by linking dicubane transition metal‐chalcogenide clusters into polymeric networks.