Magneto-structural study on a series of rhenium(IV) complexes containing biimH2, pyim and bipy ligands

Three rhenium(IV) mononuclear compounds of formulae ReCl₄(biimH₂)] · 2DMF (1), ReCl₄(pyim)] · DMF (2) and ReCl₄(bipy)] (3) (biimH₂ = 2,2′-biimidazole, pyim = 2-(2′-pyridyl)imidazole, bipy = 2,2′-bipyridine and DMF = N,N-dimethylformamide) have been prepared and characterized. The crystal structure of 2 was determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction. Compound 2 crystallizes in the monoclinic system with P2₁/c as space group. The rhenium atom is six-coordinated by four Cl atoms and two nitrogen atoms from a bidentate pyim ligand average values of Re–Cl and Re–N bonds lengths being 2.330(2) and 2.117(4) Å, respectively]. The magnetic properties were investigated from susceptibility measurements performed on polycrystalline samples of 1–3 in the temperature range 1.9–300 K. The magnetic behaviour found is typical of antiferromagnetically coupled systems, and they exhibit susceptibility maxima at 2.8 (1 and 2) and 5.6 K (3). Short Re^IV–Cl?Cl–Re^IV contacts through space account for the antiferromagnetic behaviour observed.