A versatile ethanolamine-derived trifluoromethyl enaminone ligand for the elaboration of nickel(II) and copper(II)–dysprosium(III) multinuclear complexes with magnetic properties

•Efficient and straightforward synthesis of trifluoromethyl-derived enaminone ligands.•Novel cubane and Cu(II)–Dy(III) nonanuclear complexes of trifluoromethyl-derived enaminone ligands.•X-ray structural characterization and FH structural arrangements.•Electrochemistry of a cubane Ni(II) complex. A Ni(II) tetranuclear cubane-like complex and a mixed Cu(II)–Dy(III) nonanuclear complex have been synthesized from a common ethanolamine-derived trifluoromethyl enaminone ligand. The resulting polynuclear architectures exhibit interesting magnetic properties arising from the metallic architecture, especially Single-Molecule Magnet (SMM) behavior. The crystal structures of the [Ni4] and [Dy3Cu6] complexes were refined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses and correlated to variable-temperature magnetic susceptibility data. Redox properties of the Ni(II) tetranuclear complex have been also investigated. The [Dy3Cu6] complex results from the condensation of three {Dy2Cu2} cubane-like moieties giving rise to nonanuclear architectures. By changing the global charge of the Cu–Dy nonanuclear complex (from cationic to neutral), compared with those previously reported in the literature, the magnetic properties have been disturbed. This work should contribute to improve the SMM synthesis strategy.