  The Mn12Ac single-molecule magnet has been converted for the first time into
a form that contains non-carboxylate ligands. Reaction of Mn12Ac with
diphenylphosphinic acid converts it into the title compound in which eight of
the acetate (Ac) groups have been replaced with Ph2PO2 (P) groups. The Mn12AcP
product retains the S=10 ground state and single-molecule magnetism properties
of Mn12Ac, and displays hysteresis loops containing steps due to quantum
tunneling of the magnetization. The crystal structures show that Mn12AcP can
exist in three Jahn-Teller isomeric forms differing in the relative arrangement
of the Mn(III) Jahn-Teller distortion axes.
