N1,N5-Bis(3-methoxysalicylidene)-di-imino-3-azapentane-based Mn3+, Co3+ and Cu2+ complexes: Synthesis, coordination behavior and magnetic properties

The coordination behavior and reactivity of N1,N5-bis(3-methoxysalicylidene)-di-imino-3-azapentane (H2L) with different transition metal ions have been investigated. The reaction of H2L with MnCl2·4H2O, Co(OAc)2·4H2O and Cu(OAc)2·H2O produces three new complexes, i.e. [Mn2(L)2Cl3]·H3O·2CH3CN·4H2O (1), [Co2(L)2(OAc)2]·2CH3OH·2H2O (2) and [Cu4(L)2(OAc)4]·2CH3OH·2C2H5OH (3). Single crystal X-ray structural analysis reveals that the ligand adopts η1:η1:η1:η1:μ2 and η1:η1:η1:η1:η1:μ2 modes to coordinate to the metal centers of complexes 1 and 2, respectively, while in the tetranuclear complex 3, possessing two asymmetric [Cu2(μ-O2CCH3)(μ-OCOCH3)(μ2-O)] pairs, the ligand adopts η1:η2:η1:η1:η1:η1:μ3 mode to coordinate to CuII metal centers. The magnetic properties of complexes 1 and 3 have been investigated, which show that both complexes exhibit antiferromagnetic interactions.