A new family of octanuclear Mn complexes with a rod-like topology

Three new octanuclear compounds were prepared from reactions of [Mn(O2CR)2]·2H2O (R = Et or Ph) with the diols 1,3-propanediol (pdH2) or 2-methyl-1,3-propanediol (mpdH2) in the presence of NaN3. All three compounds [Mn8(N3)4(O2CR)6(L)4(py)6] (L = pd2-, R = Et 1; L = mpd2-, R = Et 2; L = pd2-, R = Ph 3) (py = pyridine) possess a novel near-planar, rod-like topology. Dc and ac magnetic susceptibility studies in the 2-300 K range for complexes 1 and 2 revealed the presence of dominant antiferromagnetic exchange interactions, leading to diamagnetic ground spin states.