A series of homo-
and heterotrinuclear complexescontaining three face-sharing octahedra has beensynthesized by using the pendent arm macrocyclic lig
ands1,4,7-tris(3,5-dimethyl-2-hydroxybenzyl)-1,4,7-triazacyclononane, L
0H
3,
and1,4,7-tris(4-
tert-butyl-2-mercaptobenzyl)-1,4,7-triazacyclononane,LH
3:[{L
0Ni
II}
2Ni
II](
1)
and[{LCo
III}
2Co
III](PF
6)
3(
2);[{LCo
III}
2Ni]
n+(
n = 2 (
3), 3 (
4), 4(
5));[{LNi}
2Co
III]
n+(
n = 1 (
6), 2 (
7), 3 (
8))
and itslinkage isomers[{LNi}Ni{Co
IIIL}]
n+(
n = 1 (
9), 2 (
10), 3(
11))
and, finally, the complexes[{LNi}
2Ni]
n+ (
n= 0(
12), 1 (
13), 2 (
14), 3(
15)). In complex
1 three octahedralNi
II ions form a linear array with two terminal[L
0Ni
II]
-moieties in a facial N
3O
3 donor set
and acentral Ni
II ion which is connected to the terminal ionsvia six phenolatebridging pendent arms of L
0. In complexes
2-
15 the three metal ions are always in thesame lig
and matrix yieldinganN
3M(
![](/images/entities/mgr.gif)
-S)
3M(
![](/images/entities/mgr.gif)
-S)
3MN
3first-coordination sphere regardless of the nature of the metal ions(nickel or cobalt) ortheir formal oxidation states. From temperature dependent magneticsusceptibility measurements it has been determinedthat
1 has an
S = 3 ground state whereas in
12 it is
S = 1. In order to underst
andthis difference in exchangecoupling (ferromagnetic in
1 and antiferromagnetic in
12) in two apparently very similar complexes themagneticproperties of
2-
15 have been investigated.Complex
3 has an
S = 1
and 4 an
S =
1/
2,
and 5 isdiamagnetic (
S =0) as is its isoelectronic counterpart
2. Thisindicates the availability of the oxidation states II, III,
and IV ofthecentral NiS
6 unit. In the isostructural complexes
6,
7,
and 8, two terminal nickel ionsare bridged by a centraldiamagnetic Co
III. The exchange coupling between twoterminal paramagnetic nickel ions was studied as afunctionof their formal oxidation state. In
6 the twoNi
II ions are ferromagnetically coupled (
S =2); the mixed-valentNi
IINi
III species
7 has an
S =
3/
2 ground state
and in
8 most probably two Ni
III ions (d
7low spin) give rise to an
S= 1 ground state. In contrast, in the series
9,
10,
and 11 where two nickel ions are in aposition adjacent to eachother
9 has an
S = 0 (antiferromagneticcoupling), but in the mixed-valent complex
10 an
S =
3/
2 ground state(ferromagnetic coupling) is observed. In
11 an
S = 1 ground state prevails which may be achieved byferromagneticcoupling between two Ni
III ions. For the trinuclearnickel complexes
12-
15 an
S = 1ground state has been determinedfor
12, an
S =
3/
2 forthe mixed valent complex
13,
and an
S = 2 for
14,
and 15 exhibits an
S =
3/
2 ground state.The Goodenough-Kanamori rules do not provide a consistentexplanation for the observed ground states in allcases. The concept of double exchange, originally introduced byZener in 1951, appears to provide a more appropriatedescription for the mixed-valent species
7,
10,
13,
14,
and 15. This picture iscorroborated by the electrochemistry
and EPR spectroscopy of complexes.