Enhancing the magnetic coupling of oxalato-bridged Re(IV)2M(II) (M=Mn, Co, Ni, and Cu) trinuclear complexes via peripheral halide ligand effects.

Four heterotrinuclear Re(IV)(2)M(II) compounds of general formula (NBu(4))(2)[{Re(IV)Br(4)(μ-ox)}(2)M(II)(Him)(2)] [NBu(4)(+) = tetra-n-butylammonium cation, ox = oxalate, Him = imidazole; M = Mn (1), Co (2), Ni (3), and Cu (4)] have been synthesized by using the novel mononuclear complex Re(IV)Br(4)(ox) as a ligand toward divalent first-row transition metal ions in the presence of imidazole. Compounds 1-4 are isostructural complexes whose structure contains discrete trinuclear {Re(IV)Br(4)(μ-ox)}(2)M(II)(Him)(2) anions and bulky NBu(4)(+) cations. The Re and M atoms are six-coordinated: four peripheral bromo and two oxalate-oxygens (at Re), and two cis-coordinated imidazole molecules and four oxygen atoms from two oxalate ligands (at M), build distorted octahedral surroundings. Two peripheral ReBr(4)(ox) units act as bidentate ligands through the oxalate group toward the central [M(II)(Him)(2)] fragment affording the trinuclear entities. The values of the intramolecular Re···M separation are 5.62(1) (1), 5.51(1) (2), 5.46(1) (3), and 5.55(1) Å (4). Magnetic susceptibility measurements on polycrystalline samples of 1-4 in the temperature range of 1.9-300 K show the occurrence of intramolecular antiferro- [J = -1.1 cm(-1) (1)] and ferromagnetic interactions [J = +3.9 (2), +19.7 (3), and +14.4 cm(-1) (4)], the Hamiltonian being defined as Ĥ = -J [Ŝ(M)(Ŝ(Re1) + Ŝ(Re2))]. The larger spin delocalization on the oxalato bridge in 1-4 when compared to the trinuclear Re(IV)(2)M(II) complexes with chloro instead of bromo as peripheral ligands (1'-4') accounts for the strengthening of the magnetic interactions in 1-4 [J = -0.35 (1'), +14.2 (3'), and +7.7 cm(-1) (4')]. An incipient frequency dependence of the out-of-phase ac signals of 3 at very low temperatures is reminiscent of a system with slow relaxation of the magnetization, a phenomenon characteristic of single-molecule magnet behavior.