Manganese(II) complexes of a set of 2-aminomethylpyridine-derived ligands bearing a methoxyalkyl arm: syntheses, structures and magnetism

Four new ligands, N-(2-methoxyethyl)-N-(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)amine (mepma), N-(3-methoxypropyl)-N,N-bis(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)amine (mpbpa), N-(2-methoxyethyl)-N,N-bis(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)amine (mebpa) and 2-{[(2-methoxyethyl)(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)amino]methyl} phenol (Hmepap), and four of their complexes with manganese(II) halides, [MnCl2(mepma)2] (1), [MnCl(μ-Cl)(mpbpa)]2 (2), [MnBr2(mebpa)] (3) and [MnBr2(MeOH)(Hmepap)] (4) have been synthesized and characterized. Single-crystal Xray studies revealed that in all four complexes, the Mn(II) coordination spheres are distorted octahedral. In 1 and 2, the ether oxygen atom does not coordinate to the Mn(II) centre, but in 3 and 4 it does. The mononuclear molecules of 1 are linked by double hydrogen bonds to form linear chains. Temperature dependent magnetic susceptibility measurements revealed that the Mn(II) ions in 1 interact antiferromagnetically, with J=−1.06 cm−1. Compound 2 crystallizes as a double chloride-bridged dimer in which there is a weak ferromagnetic interaction (J=0.55 cm−1) between the Mn(II) pair. The solution EPR spectrum of 2 suggests that in methanol compound 2 decomposes to a great extent to mononuclear species. In compound 3, mebpa acts as a tetradentate ligand with all of its nitrogen and oxygen atoms coordinated to the Mn(II) ion. Unexpectedly, in complex 4, the phenolic oxygen of Hmepap remains protonated and does not coordinate to the metal ion. Instead the oxygen from a methanol molecule coordinates the manganese centre. Hydrogen bonds between one of the two bromide ions, and the methanol and phenol hydroxyl groups, respectively, connect the mononuclear molecules of 4 into chains. No magnetic interactions were observed between the Mn(II) ions in 3 or 4.