The bulky phosphonate ligands CarbmPO(3)H(2) (((9H-carbazol-9-yl)methyl)phosphonic acid) and CarbePO(3)H(2) ((2-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)ethyl)phosphonic acid) were employed to construct cages [Ni-9(py)(2)CO2}(2)(CarbmPO(3))(4)((BuCO2)-Bu-t)(6)(tBuCO(2)H)(2)(CH3CN)(2)] 1 and [Ni-11(py)(2)CO2}(2)(CarbePO(3))(4)((BuCO2)-Bu-t)(10)(CH3CN)(2)] 2 with (py)(2)CO (di-2-pyridyl ketone) and Hpiv (pivalic acid) as coligands under solvothermal conditions. The metallic cores of cages 1 and 2 display vertex-sharing tetragonal pyramidal and tetra-capped octahedral arrangements, respectively. Magnetic property measurements indicate the coexistence of antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic interactions between nickel centers for both cages. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.