Syntheses, structures and single-molecule magnetic behaviors of two dicubane Mn₄ complexes

The reaction of MnX₂·4H₂O (X = Cl or Br) with 2,6-bis(hydroxymethyl)-4-methylphenol (H₃L) and NaOH in methanol solution yielded two tetranuclear manganese complexes, [Mn₄(HL) ₄(MeOH)₄Cl₂] (1) and [Mn₄(HL) ₄(MeOH)₄Br₂] (2). Both compounds crystallize in the monoclinic space group C₂/c with cell parameters: a = 26.0945(19) Å, b = 11.4999(8) Å, c = 21.2188(16) Å, β = 121.050(1)° and z = 4 for 1·2Et₂O; a = 25.8145(3) Å, b = 11.6734(2) Å, c = 21.3956(3) Å, β = 120.1277(6)° and z = 4 for 2·2Et₂O. Both complexes consist of a mixed-valence dicubane structure, which comprises two Mn^II and two Mn^III ions. Magnetic susceptibilities and magnetization of complexes 1 and 2 in the solid state indicate that two clusters have an S = 9 ground state. Frequency-dependent out-of-phase signals of alternating current magnetic susceptibilities were observed in the low temperature range (<3 K) for both complexes indicating a slow magnetic relaxation.