Synthesis, structure and magnetic properties of a novel high-nuclearity oxo-carboxylate [ZnxCo13-x(μ4-O)4(O2CPh)18] cluster.

The charge-neutral bimetallic Zn(ii)/Co(ii) tridecanuclear oxocarboxylate cluster [ZnxCo13-x(μ4-O)4(O2CPh)18] (x≈ 5.6) was synthesized under anaerobic conditions by the controlled hydrolysis of an alkylzinc carboxylate [EtZn(O2CPh)] in the presence of cobalt(ii) benzoate Co(O2CPh)2. The composition and molecular structure of the resulting aggregates were solved by a combination of elemental analysis, infrared spectroscopy and single-crystal X-ray diffraction.