Correlating Bridging Ligand with Properties of Ligand-Templated [Mn II 3 X 3 ] 3+ Clusters (X = Br - , Cl - , H - , MeO - ).

Polynuclear manganese compounds have garnered interest as mimics and models of the water oxidizing complex (WOC) in photosystem II and as single molecule magnets. Molecular systems in which composition can be correlated to physical phenomena, such as magnetic exchange interactions, remain few primarily because of synthetic limitations. Here, we report the synthesis of a family of trimanganese(II) complexes of the type Mn3 X3 L (X = Cl- , H- , and MeO- ) where L3- is a tris(β-diketiminate) cyclophane. The tri(chloride) complex (2) is structurally similar to the reported tri(bromide) complex (1) with the Mn3 X3 core having a ladder-like arrangement of alternating M-X rungs, whereas the tri(μ-hydride) (3) and tri(μ-methoxide) (4) complexes contain planar hexagonal cores. The hydride and methoxide complexes are synthesized in good yield (48% and 56%) starting with the bromide complex employing a metathesis-like strategy. Compounds 2-4 were characterized by combustion analysis, X-ray crystallography, X-band EPR spectroscopy, SQUID magnetometry, and infrared and UV-visible spectroscopy. Magnetic susceptibility measurements indicate that the Mn3 clusters in 2-4 are antiferromagnetically coupled, and the spin ground state of the compounds (S = 3/2 (1, 2) or S = 1/2 (3, 4)) is correlated to the identity of the bridging ligand and structural arrangement of the Mn3 X3 core (X = Br, Cl, H, OCH3 ). Electrochemical experiments on isobutyronitrile solutions of 3 and 4 display broad irreversible oxidations centered at 0.30 V.