Control of molecular architecture by steric factors: mononuclear vs polynuclear manganese(III) compounds with tetradentate N2O2 donor Schiff bases.

Three manganese(III) compounds, [Mn(III)(vanoph)(DMF)(H(2)O)]ClO(4) (1), [Mn(III)(vanoph)(N(3))(H(2)O)]·2H(2)O (2) and [Mn(III)(saloph)(μ(1,3)-N(3))](n) (3), where H(2)vanoph = N,N'-(1,2-phenylene)-bis(3-methoxysalicylideneimine), H(2)saloph = N,N'-(1,2-phenylene)-bis(salicylideneamine) are tetradentate N(2)O(2) ligands and DMF = N,N-dimethylformamide, have been prepared and characterised by elemental analysis, IR and UV-Vis spectroscopy and single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies. Compounds 1 and 2 are monomeric but compound 3 consists of a chain system with the repeating unit [Mn(III)(saloph)(N(3))] bridged by μ-1,3 azide. Compound 1 crystallises in monoclinic space group P2(1)/n with cell dimensions of a = 11.1430(2), b = 16.3594(3), c = 15.4001(3) Å, β = 108.417(1), Z = 4 whereas compounds 2 and 3 crystallise in orthorhombic space groups Pbca and Pna2(1), respectively, with cell dimensions of a = 16.069(3), b = 15.616(3), c = 18.099(4) Å, Z = 8 (for 2) and a = 18.760(9), b = 13.356(5), c = 6.616(3) Å, Z = 4 (for 3). In all the compounds, Mn(III) has a six-coordinated pseudo-octahedral geometry in which O(2), O(3), N(1) and N(2) atoms of the deprotonated di-Schiff base constitute the equatorial plane. In both compounds 1 and 2, water molecules are present in the fifth coordination sites in the apical positions. The sixth coordination sites are occupied by one O atom of a solvent DMF in compound 1 and an N atom of azide in compound 2. The coordinated water initiates hydrogen-bonded networks in both compounds 1 and 2 to form well-isolated supramolecular dimers. At room temperature the χ(M)T values for the compounds 1 and 2 remain almost constant until 30 K. Below this temperature, the χ(M)T values drastically drop to 0.72 cm(3) mol(-1) K for 1 and 0.52 cm(3) mol(-1) K for 2. The best fits were obtained with J = -0.92 cm(-1), |D| = 2.05 cm(-1), g = 2.0 and R = 8.1 × 10(-4) for 1 and J = -1.16 cm(-1), |D| = 2.05 cm(-1), g = 2.0 and R = 1.2 × 10(-3) for 2. However, in compound 3, two axial positions are occupied by the azide ions. The Mn···Mn repeating distance is 6.616 Å along the chain. Magnetic characterisation shows that the μ(1,3)-bridging azide ion mainly transmits an antiferromagnetic interaction (J = -6.36 cm(-1)) between Mn(III) ions. The presence of two methoxy groups increases the steric crowding in the H(2)vanoph moiety and thereby inhibits the formation of a polynuclear compound with this ligand. This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2011