New phenoxido-bridged quasi-tetrahedral and rhomboidal [Cu4] compounds bearing μ4-oxido or μ(1,1)-azido ligands: synthesis, chemical reactivity, and magnetic studies.

[Cu(2)(μ(4)-O)Cu(2)] and [Cu(2)(μ(1,1)-N(3))(4)Cu(2)] geometrical arrangements are found in a new family of tetranuclear copper(II) complexes: [Cu(4)(μ(4)-O)(μ-cip)(2)Cl(4)] (1), [Cu(4)(μ(4)-O)(μ-cip)(2)(μ(1,3)-O(2)CPh)(4)]·2CH(3)OH (2·2CH(3)OH), and [Cu(4)(μ(1,1)-N(3))(4)(μ-cip)(2)(N(3))(2)]·DMF (3·DMF) [Hcip = 2,6-bis(cyclohexyliminomethylene)-4-methylphenol; CH(3)OH = methanol; DMF = dimethylformamide]. These complexes have been characterized by X-ray crystallography, and their magnetic properties have been studied. 1 and 2 form quasi-tetrahedral [Cu(4)(μ(4)-O)] complexes, and 3 is the first example of a rhomboidal [Cu(4)(μ(1,1)-N(3))] compound. Formation of the [Cu(4)] compounds is achieved via ligand-exchange reactions. The relative binding strength of the three ancillary ligands as N(3)(-) > PhCO(2)(-) > Cl(-) has been demonstrated from the core-conversion and peripheral ligand-exchange reactions. For the three complexes, the magnetic susceptibility measurements in the range of 1.8-300 K have been performed and modeled using two isolated S = (1)/(2) dimers based on the spin Hamiltonian H = -2J{S(Cu,1)·S(Cu,2)} with J/k(B) = -513, -340, and -315 K for 1-3, respectively (where J is the exchange constant through the oxido-phenoxido and azido-phenoxido bridges, respectively).