Synthesis, crystal structures and magnetic properties of cyanide- and phenolate-bridged [M(III)NiII]2 tetranuclear complexes (M=Fe and Cr)

The binuclear complex NiII2L(H2O)2(ClO4)2(1) and the neutral tetranuclear bimetallic compounds [{M(III)(phen)(CN)4}2{NiII2L(H2O)2}].2CH3CN with M=Fe (2) and Cr (3)[H2L=11,23-dimethyl-3,7,15,19-tetraazatricyclo[19.3.1.1(9,13)]hexacosa-2,7,9,11,13(26),14,19,21(25),22,24-decaene-25,26-diol] have been synthesized and the structures of and determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction. and are isostructural compounds whose structure is made up of centrosymmetric binuclear cations [Ni2(L)(H2O)2]2+ and two peripheral [M(phen)(CN)4]- anions [M=Fe (2) and Cr (3)] acting as monodentate ligands towards the nickel atoms through one of their four cyanide nitrogen atoms. The environment of the metal atoms in 2 and 3 is six-coordinated: two phen-nitrogen and four cyanide-carbon atoms at the iron and chromium atoms and a water molecule, one cyanide-nitrogen and two phenolate-oxygens and two imine-nitrogens from the binucleating ligand L2- at the nickel atom build distorted octahedral surroundings. The values of the FeNi and CrNi separations through the single cyanide bridge are 5.058(1) and 5.174(2)A respectively, whereas the Ni-Ni distances across the double phenolate bridge are 3.098(2)(2) and 3.101(1) A (3). The magnetic properties of have been investigated in the temperature range 1.9-290 K. The magnetic behaviour of corresponds to that of an antiferromagnetically coupled nickel(II) dimer with J=-61.0(1) cm-1, the Hamiltonian being defined as H=-J S(A).S(B). An overall antiferromagnetic behaviour is observed for and with a low-lying singlet spin state. The values of the intramolecular magnetic couplings are J(Fe-Ni)=+17.4(1) cm-1 and J(Ni-Ni(a))=-44.4(1) cm-1 for and J(Cr-Ni)=+11.8(1) cm-1 and J(Ni-Ni(a))=-44.6(1) cm-1 for [H=-J(M-Ni)(S(M).S(Ni)+S(Ma).S(Nia))-J(Ni-Nia)S(Ni)S(Nia)]. Theoretical calculations using methods based on density functional theory (DFT) have been employed on in order to analyze the efficiency of the exchange pathways involved and also to substantiate the exchange coupling parameters.