Mononuclear manganese(III) complexes as building blocks for the design of trinuclear manganese clusters: study of the ligand influence on the magnetic properties of the [Mn3(mu3-O)](7+) core.

The synthesis, crystal structure, and magnetic properties of three new manganese(III) clusters are reported, [Mn 3(mu 3-O)(phpzH) 3(MeOH) 3(OAc)] (1), [Mn 3(mu 3-O)(phpzMe) 3(MeOH) 3(OAc)].1.5MeOH (2), and [Mn 3(mu 3-O)(phpzH) 3(MeOH) 4(N 3)].MeOH (3) (H 2phpzH = 3(5)-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-pyrazole and H 2phpzMe = 3(5)-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-5(3)-methylpyrazole). Complexes 1- 3 consist of a triangle of manganese(III) ions with an oxido-center bridge and three ligands, phpzR (2-) (R = H, Me) that form a plane with the metal ions. All the complexes contain the same core with the general formula [Mn 3(mu 3-O)(phpzR) 3] (+). Methanol molecules and additional bridging ligands, that is, acetate (complexes 1 and 2) and azide (complex 3), are at the terminal positions. Temperature dependent magnetic susceptibility studies indicate the presence of predominant antiferromagnetic intramolecular interactions between manganese(III) ions in 1 and 3, while both antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic intramolecular interactions are operative in 2.