MAGNETIC COUPLING CONSTANTS AND SPIN DENSITY DISTRIBUTIONS FOR CYANO-BRIDGED Gd(III)-Fe(III) AND Gd(III)-Cr(III) COMPOUNDS: BROKEN-SYMMETRY AND DENSITY FUNCTIONAL THEORY CALCULATIONS

Magnetic coupling constants J for the complete structures of [ Gd(capro) 2( H 2 O )4 Cr(CN) 6]• H 2 O (capro represents caprolactam) (a) and trans-[ Fe(CN) 4(μ- CN )2 Gd ( H 2 O )4 (bpy) ]•4 H 2 O •1.5 bpy (b) have been calculated using hybrid density functional theory (DFT) B3LYP combined with a modified broken symmetry approach (BS). The calculated J value of -0.24 cm-1 for a is very close to the experimental -0.33 cm-1. They both show the antiferromagnetic interaction between Gd(III) and Cr(III) . For b, although the sign of the calculated J value of 4.24 cm-1 is different from that of the experimental -0.38 cm-1, the two values both show the weak magnetic coupling interaction between Gd(III) and Fe(III) . The spin density distributions are discussed on the basis of Mulliken population analysis. For complexes a and b, both transition metal ( Fe(III) or Cr(III) ) and rare earth Gd(III) display a spin polarization effect on the surrounding atoms, where a counteraction of the opposite polarization effects leads to a low spin density on the bridging ligand C1N1 . For the compounds Gd(III) - Cr(III) (a) and Gd(III) - Fe(III) (b) in the HS states, Cr(III) has stronger spin polarization influence on the bridging atoms than Fe(III) even causing the positive spin population on the bridging atom N1 .