Phenolate- and acetate (both mu(2)-1,1 and mu(2)-1,3 mode)-bridged face-shared trioctahedral linear Ni(II)(3), Ni(II)(2)M(II) (M = Mn, Co) complexes: ferro- and antiferromagnetic coupling.

The complexes [(L)(2)Ni(II)(2)M(II)(mu(2)-1,3-OAc)(2)(mu(2)-1,1-OAc)(2)(S)(2)] x xMeOH [HL = N-methyl-N-(2-hydroxybenzyl)-2-aminoethyl-2-pyridine; M = Ni, S = MeOH, x = 6 (1); M = Mn, S = H(2)O, x = 0 (2); M = Co, S = MeOH, x = 6 (3)] have been synthesized. Crystal structures reveal that three octahedral MII ions form a linear array with two terminal moieties {(L)Ni(II)(mu(2)-1,3-OAc)(mu(2)-1,1-OAc)(MeOH/H(2)O)}(-) in a facial donor set and a central MII ion which is connected to the terminal ions via bridging phenolate and two types of bridging acetates. Magnetic measurements reveal that the Ni(II)(3) and Ni(II)(2)Co(II) centers are ferromagnetically and Ni(II)(2)Mn(II) center is antiferromagnetically coupled. An attempt has been made to rationalize the observed magneto-structural behavior.