Characterization of the chloranilate(*3-) pi radical as a strong spin-coupling bridging ligand.

Dinuclear [(TPA)Co(II)(CA2-)Co(II)(TPA)](BF4)2.2MeOH (1) [TPA = tris(2-pyridylmethyl)amine] and [(TPA)CoII(CA*3-)CoII(TPA)](BF4).2Et2O (2) with a bridging chloranilate radical ligand formed by reduction of 1 are crystallographically and magnetically characterized. 1 has shown a weak antiferromagnetic coupling within the Co(II) dimer [J/kB = -0.65 K (-0.45 cm(-1))], while 2 has a 2 orders of magnitude stronger antiferromagnetic interaction between the Co(II) ion and a radical [J/kB = -75 K (52 cm(-1))].