LAUSR

A recently synthesized Mn-containing molecule Ce2IIICeIVMn8IIIO8(O2CPh)18(HO2CPh) (Ce3Mn8III) structurally resembles the repeating unit of a bulk perovskite manganite. This resemblance brings forth the intriguing possibility of studying physical properties and effects that appear in both the molecule and the far more complex bulk perovskites, for example, effects of cation substitution, which in bulk manganites may lead to phase transition from metallic-ferromagnetic to insulating-paramagnetic as well as the colossal magnetoresistance effect. We investigate divalent and trivalent cation substitution in Ce3Mn8III molecules and its effects on ground-state magnetic configuration using first-principles-based approaches. One MnIII ion changes its valence to MnIV after trivalent (including La, Gd) cation substitution, while four MnIII ions become MnIV upon divalent (including Ca, Sr, Ba, and Pb) cation substitutions, all accompanied by vanishing local Jahn–Teller distortion around MnIV. The valence state of MnI...