Hydrogen bond assisted co-crystallization of a bimetallic Mn^III₂Ni^II₂cluster and a Ni^II₂cluster unit: synthesis, structure, spectroscopy and magnetism

A new bimetallic Schiff-base composite complex [Ni2(LH2)2(H2O)2Cl2][Mn2Ni2(LH)4]2Cl4(CH3OH)(1) has been synthesized by a simple one-pot reaction. The compound wasstructurally characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. In thecrystal structure the dinuclear nickel units are connected to thetetranuclear Mn2Ni2 units by means ofstrong hydrogen-bonding interactions. The compound was furthercharacterized by ESI-MS, ligand-field and infrared spectroscopy. Themagnetic properties of the compound have been studied in combination withpreliminary DFT calculations, and have resulted in the successful determinationof the nature of the magnetic exchange interactions between the metal ions, andhence the coupling constants.