Coordination Complexes of a Neutral 1,2,4‐Benzotriazinyl Radical Ligand: Synthesis,Molecular and Electronic Structures,and Magnetic Properties

A series of d‐block metal complexes of the recently reported coordinating neutral radical ligand 1‐phenyl‐3‐(pyrid‐2‐yl)‐1,4‐dihydro‐1,2,4‐benzotriazin‐4‐yl ( 1 ) was synthesized. The investigated systems contain the benzotriazinyl radical 1 coordinated to a divalent metal cation, Mn^II, Fe^II, Co^II, or Ni^II, with 1,1,1,5,5,5‐hexafluoroacetylacetonato (hfac) as the auxiliary ligand of choice. The synthesized complexes were fully characterized by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction, magnetic susceptibility measurements, and electronic structure calculations. The complexes Mn( 1 )(hfac)₂] and Fe( 1 )(hfac)₂] displayed antiferromagnetic coupling between the unpaired electrons of the ligand and the metal cation, whereas the interaction was found to be ferromagnetic in the analogous Ni^II complex Ni( 1 )(hfac)₂]. The magnetic properties of the complex Co( 1 )(hfac)₂] were difficult to interpret owing to significant spin–orbit coupling inherent to octahedral high‐spin Co^II metal ion. As a whole, the reported data clearly demonstrated the favorable coordinating properties of the radical 1 , which, together with its stability and structural tunability, make it an excellent new building block for establishing more complex metal–radical architectures with interesting magnetic properties.