2D coordination polymers of Nd(III) and Gd(III) with the phenoxyacetate ligand

The self-assembly of anionic phenoxyacetate ligands and Nd(III) cations in a 3:1 ratio leads to a 2D {Nd2(PhOCH2COO)6(H2O)3 · H2O}n coordination polymer 1, which was structurally characterized. The metal centers are bridged by carboxylic groups to form infinite parallel chains separated (19.4 Å) by the π–π and C–H⋯π-stacked phenoxy groups of the ligands. The thermal dependence of the molar magnetic susceptibility for the isostructural gadolinium polymer 2 has been measured and analyzed according to the analytical expression of an infinite chain of classical spins derived by Fisher. The Gd⋯Gd interaction is ferromagnetic with a magnitude of 0.015(3) cm−1. Modelling of the field-dependent magnetization at 2 K corroborates this result.