4,2-Ribbon like ferromagnetic cyano-bridged Fe(III)2Ni(II) chains: a magneto-structural study

The low-spin iron(III) complex AsPh(4)Fe(III)(bpy)(CN)(4)].CH(3)CN (1) AsPh(4) = tetraphenylarsonium cation] and the heterobimetallic chains {Fe(III)(L)(CN)(4)}(2)Ni(II)(H(2)O)(2)].4H(2)O with L = bpy (2) and phen (3) bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine and phen = 1,10-phenanthroline] have been prepared and their structures determined by X-ray diffraction methods. The structure of 1 consists of mononuclear Fe(bpy)(CN)(4)](-) anions, tetraphenylarsonium cations and acetonitrile molecules of crystallization. The iron(III) is hexacoordinated with two nitrogen atoms of the bidentate bpy and four carbon atoms of four terminal cyanide groups building a distorted octahedral surrounding around the metal atom. 2 and 3 are isomorphous compounds whose structure is made up of neutral 4,2-ribbon like bimetallic chains of formula {Fe(III)(L)(CN)(4)}(2)Ni(II)(H(2)O)(2)] where the Fe(III)(L)(CN)(4)](-) unit acts as a bis-monodentate bridging ligand toward the trans-diaquanickel(II) units through two of its four cyanide groups in cis positions. The chains exhibit two orientations in the unit cell and they interact with each other through hydrogen bonds involving the coordination and crystallization water molecules together with the uncoordinated cyanide nitrogen atoms of the Fe(L)(CN)(4)](-) units. Compounds 2 and 3 behave as ferromagnetic Fe(III)(2)Ni(II) chains which interact ferromagnetically at very low temperatures in the case of 2, whereas metamagnetic-like behaviour is observed for with a critical field (H(c)) around 200 G. For H > H(c) the ferromagnetic Fe(III)(2)Ni(II) chains of 3 exhibit a frequency dependence of the out-of-phase ac susceptibility signal at T < 3.5 K.