Tris(salicylhydroxamato)manganese(III)

Summary Hydroxamic acids show a degree of selectivity towards transition metal ions having symmetrical d-electron configuration, e.g. vanadium(V) (d⁰) and iron(III) (d⁶⁵). Hydroxamato complexes of metal ions having unsymmetrical d-electron distribution are rare. Thus for manganese(III) (d⁴) only some thiohydroxamato complexes⁽¹⁾ have been characterised so far. In this communication we report on the first synthesis of a salicylhydroxamato complex of manganese(III). Such investigations are of interest because these higher valent manganese complexes are potentially models for the water-splitting complex present in photosystem II⁽²).