Dangling and hydrolyzed ligand arms in [Mn3] and [Mn6] coordination assemblies: synthesis, characterization, and functional activity

Two flexible, branched, and sterically constrained di- and tripodal side arms around a phenol backbone were utilized in ligands H3L1 and H5L2 to isolate {Mn6} and {Mn3} coordination aggregates. 2,6-Bis{(1-hydroxy-2-methylpropan-2-ylimino)methyl}-4-methylphenol (H3L1) gave trinuclear complex [Mn3(μ-H2L1)2(μ1,3-O2CCH3)4(CH3OH)2](ClO4)2·4CH3OH (1), whereas 2,6-bis[{1-hydroxy-2-(hydroxymethyl)butan-2-ylimino}methyl]-4-methylphenol (H5L2) provided hexanuclear complex [Mn6(μ4-H2L2)2(μ-HL3)2(μ3-OH)2(μ1,3-O2CC2H5)4](ClO4)2·2H2O (2). Binding of acetates and coordination of {H2L1}− provided a linear MnIIIMnIIMnIII arrangement in 1. A MnIII6 fused diadamantane-type assembly was obtained in 2 from propionate bridges, coordination of {H2L2}3–, and in situ generated {HL3}2–. The magnetic characterization of 1 and 2 revealed the properties dominated by intramolecular anti-ferromagnetic exchange interactions, and this was confirmed using density functional theory calculations. Complex 1 exhibited field-induced slow magnetic relaxation at 2 K due to the axial anisotropy of MnIII centers. Both the complexes show effective solvent-dependent catechol oxidation toward 3,5-di-tert-butylcatechol in air. The catechol oxidation abilities are comparable from two complexes of different nuclearity and structure

Magnetic properties of a family of [MnIII4LnIII4] wheel complexes: an experimental and theoretical study

The chelating ligand 1,3-bis(tris(hydroxymethyl)methylamino)propane (H6L) has been used to synthesize a family of octanuclear heterometallic complexes with the formula (NMe4)3[Mn4Ln4(H2L)3(H3L)(NO3)12] (Ln = La (1), Ce (2), Pr (3), Nd (4)). Encapsulation by the ligand causes the Mn(III) centers to lie in an unusually distorted (∼C2v) environment, which is shown by density functional theory and complete active space self-consistent field calculations to impact on the magnetic anisotropy of the Mn(III) ion. The theoretical study also supports the experimental observation of a ferromagnetic superexchange interaction between the Mn(III) ions in 1, despite the ions being separated by the diamagnetic La(III) ion. The optical properties of the compounds show that the distortion of the Mn(III) ions leads to three broad absorption bands originating from the transition metal ion, while the Nd(III) containing complex also displays some weak sharp features arising from the lanthanide f–f transitions

A large axial magnetic anisotropy in trigonal bipyramidal Fe(II)

The first trigonal bipyramidal Fe(II) complex to display slow relaxation of magnetisation has been isolated, with this behaviour found to arise through a combination of a large magnetic anisotropy (D = -27.5 cm-1) and a pseudo-D3h symmetry at the Fe(II) centre, as investigated through ab initio and magnetic studies

Polyanionic Ligand Platforms for Methyl- and Dimethylaluminum Arrays

Trimethylaluminum finds widespread applications in chemical and materials synthesis, most prominently in its partially hydrolyzed form of methylalumoxane (MAO), which is used as a cocatalyst in the polymerization of olefins. This work investigates the sequential reactions of trimethylaluminum with hexaprotic phosphazenes (RNH)6P3N3 (=XH6) equipped with substituents R of varied steric bulk including tert-butyl (1H6), cyclohexyl (2H6), isopropyl (3H6), isobutyl (4H6), ethyl (5H6), propyl (6H6), methyl (7H6), and benzyl (8H6). Similar to MAO, the resulting complexes of polyanionic phosphazenates [XHn]n−6 accommodate multinuclear arrays of [AlMe2]+ and [AlMe]2+. Reactions were monitored by 31P NMR spectroscopy, and structures were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. They included 1H4(AlMe2)2, 1H3(AlMe2)3, 2H3(AlMe2)3, 3(AlMe2)4AlMe, 4H­(AlMe2)5, 4(AlMe2)6, {5H­(AlMe2)4}2AlMe, 5(AlMe2)6, 6(AlMe2)6, {7(AlMe2)4AlMe}2, and 8(AlMe2)6. The study shows that subtle variations of the steric properties of the R groups influence the reaction pathways, levels of aggregation, and fluxional behavior. While [AlMe2]+ is the primary product of the metalation, [AlMe]2+ is utilized to alleviate overcrowding or to aid aggregation. At the later stages of metalation, [AlMe2]+ groups start to scramble around congested sites. The ligands proved to be very robust and extremely flexible, offering a unique platform to study complex multinuclear metal arrangements

A family of [Cu2], [Cu4] and [Cu5] aggregates : alteration of reaction conditions, ancillary bridges and capping anions

The phenoxido-bridged [Cu2] complex [Cu2(μ-H4L1)(μ-OH)(μ1,3-NO3)(NO3)(OH2)]·H2O (1) and its hierarchical [Cu4] and [Cu5] assemblies [Cu4(μ-H4L1)2(μ-OH)2(μ1,3-ClO4)(OH2)2](ClO4)3·2H2O (2) and [Cu5(μ-H4L1)2(μ3-OH)2(μ1,3-O2CCF3)2(O2CCF3)2](CF3COO)2 (3) were obtained from the reactions of H5L1 (2,6-bis-{(1,3-dihydroxy-2-methylpropan-2-ylimino)methyl}-4-methylphenol) with three copper(ii) salts. The available NO3−, ClO4− and CF3COO− ions have been trapped for ‘spontaneous’ anion-directed ‘self-assembly’ reactions. All the synthesized complexes contain the [Cu2(μ-H4L1)(μ-OH)]2+ fragment, prone to assemble and crystallize [Cu4] and [Cu5] complexes under varying reaction conditions. They were characterized by UV-vis and IR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis and magnetic studies. A change from NO3− to ClO4− and CF3COO− results in different courses of reactions based on Cu2(μ-H4L1) fragments. Binding of NO3− provided 1 as an isolated [Cu2] complex by trapping the reactive fragment. In 2 a perchlorate ligand, in the μ1,3-binding mode, has been realized as a solitary support for the condensation of two Cu2(μ-H4L1) fragments. The {Cu5(μ3-OH)2(μ1,3-O2CCF3)2}6+ constellation in 3 contains five CuII centers with a unique Z-in distorted octahedral one at the central position. Binding of different anions to the copper(ii) centers controls the nuclearity of the reaction products and tuning of the self-aggregation process within the same ligand environment (μ-H4L1−). The magnetic properties of the compounds have been studied both experimentally and using DFT calculations, revealing moderate to strong antiferromagnetic coupling in all aggregates

New Route to Local Order Models for Disordered Crystalline Materials: Diffuse Scattering and Computational Modeling of Phloroglucinol Dihydrate

A new, readily tractable route to determining short-range order models for materials exhibiting occupational disorder and diffuse scattering using first-principles solid-state quantum mechanical calculations is presented and illustrated with application to the disordered, layered molecular material phloroglucinol dihydrate

Field-induced slow relaxation in a monometallic manganese(III) single-molecule magnet

High-field electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy shows that the structurally distorted MnIII ion in Na5[Mn(l-tart)2]·12H2O (1; l-tart = l-tartrate) has a significant negative axial zero-field splitting and a small rhombic anisotropy (∼1% of D). Alternating-current magnetic susceptibility measurements demonstrate that 1, which contains isolated MnIII centers, displays slow relaxation of its magnetization under an applied direct-current magnetic field