Hexanuclear iron(III) salicylaldoximato complexes presenting the [Fe6(mu3-O)2(mu2-OR)2]12+ core: syntheses, crystal structures, and spectroscopic and magnetic characterization

The use of salicylaldehyde oxime (H2salox) in iron(III) carboxylate chemistry has yielded two new hexanuclear compounds Fe6(mu3-O)2(O2CPh)10(salox)2(L)2].xMeCN.yH2O L = MeCONH2, x = 6, y = 0 (1); L = H2O, x = 2, y = 3 (2)]. Compound 1 crystallizes in the triclinic space group P with (at 25 degrees C) a = 13.210(8) A, b = 13.87(1) A, c = 17.04(1) A, alpha = 105.79(2) degrees , beta = 96.72(2) degrees , gamma = 116.69(2) degrees , V = 2578.17(2) A(3), and Z = 1. Compound 2 crystallizes in the monoclinic space group C2/c with (at 25 degrees C) a = 21.81(1) A, b = 17.93(1) A, c = 27.72(1) A, beta = 111.70(2) degrees , V = 10070(10) A(3), and Z = 4. Complexes 1 and 2 contain the Fe6(mu3-O)2(mu2-OR)2]12+ core and can be considered as two Fe3(mu3-O)] triangular subunits linked by two mu2-oximato O atoms of the salox2- ligands, which show the less common mu3:eta1:eta2:eta1 coordination mode. The benzoato ligands are coordinated through the usual syn,syn-mu2:eta1:eta1 mode. The terminal MeCONH2 ligand in 1 is the hydrolysis product of the acetonitrile solvent in the presence of the metal ions. M?ssbauer spectra from powdered samples of 2 give rise to two well-resolved doublets with an average isomer shift consistent with that of high-spin Fe(III) ions. The two doublets, at an approximate 1:2 ratio, are characterized by different quadrupole splittings and are assigned to the nonequivalent Fe(III) ions of the cluster. Magnetic measurements of 2 in the 2-300 K temperature range reveal antiferromagnetic interactions between the Fe(III) ions, stabilizing an S = 0 ground state. NMR relaxation data have been used to investigate the energy separation between the low-lying states, and the results are in agreement with the susceptibility data.