An EPR and 1H NMR active mixed-valence manganese (III/II/III) trinuclear compound.

A mixed-valence Mn(III)-Mn(II)-Mn(III) trinuclear complex of stoichiometry MnIIIMnIIMnIII(Hsaladhp)2(Sal)4.2CH3CN (1), where H3saladhp is a tridentate Schiff-base ligand, has been structurally characterized with X-ray crystallography. The Mn(III)Mn(II)Mn(III) angles are strictly 180 degrees as required by crystallographic inversion symmetry. The complex is valence-trapped with two terminal Mn(III) ions in a distorted square pyramidal geometry. The Mn(III)...Mn(II) separation is 3.495 A. The trinuclear complex shows small antiferromagnetic exchange J coupling. The magnetic parameters obtained from the fitting procedure in the temperature range 10-300 K are J1 = -5.7 cm-1, g = 2.02, zJ = -0.19 cm-1, and R = 0.004. The EPR spectrum was obtained at 4 K in CHCl3 and in tetrahydrofuran glasses. The low-field EPR signal is a superposition of two signals, one centered around g = 3.6 and the other, for which hyperfine structure is observed, centered around g = 4.1 indicating an S = 3/2 state. In addition, there is a 19-line signal at g = 2.0. The multiline signal compares well with that observed for the S2 or S0* states of the oxygen-evolving complex. 1H NMR data reveal that the trinuclear compound keeps its integrity into the CHCl3 solution. Crystal data for complex 1: [C54H52N4O18Mn3], M = 1209.82, triclinic, space group P1, a = 10.367(6) A, b = 11.369(6) A, c = 13.967(8) A; alpha = 112.56(1) degree, beta = 93.42(2) degrees, gamma = 115.43(1) degree, Z = 1.