A new manganese(II) phosphite templated by ethylenediamine has been prepared byhydrothermal synthesis and characterized by X-ray diffraction data and spectroscopictechniques. A study of the evolution of the synthetic process suggests the presence of amanganese(II) phosphite as intermediate in the first steps of the reaction. The (C
2H
10N
2)[Mn
3(HPO
3)
4] compound crystallizes in the triclinic space group
P-1 with
a = 5.459(1) Å,
b= 5.460(2) Å,
c = 14.194(5) Å,
![](/images/gifchars/alpha.gif)
= 80.65(2)
![](/images/entities/deg.gif)
,
![](/images/gifchars/beta2.gif)
= 85.41(1)
![](/images/entities/deg.gif)
,
![](/images/gifchars/gamma.gif)
= 60.04(2)
![](/images/entities/deg.gif)
,
V = 361.7(2) Å
3,and
Z = 1. The compound exhibits a layered structure along the
c axis with theethylenediammonium cations located between the sheets. Within the layers the face-sharingMnO
6 octahedra give rise to trimeric entities which are interconnected by HPO
3 tetrahedra.Studies of luminescence and diffuse reflectance spectroscopies have been carried out. Thevalues of the Dq = 875 cm
-1 and Racah parameters,
B = 660 and
C = 3160 cm
-1, have beencalculated. The ESR spectra at different temperatures show isotropic signals with a
g valueof 2.01, which remains unchanged with variation in temperature. The thermal evolution ofboth the intensity and the line width of the ESR signals shows an increase from roomtemperature to 4.2 K. From the magnetic measurements the presence of antiferromagneticinteractions in the compound can be observed. The high-temperature magnetic data havebeen fitted to a model for linear isolated trimers of Mn(II) with a
J exchange parameter of-17 K. At temperatures lower than ca. 80 K a long magnetic order, propagated via phosphiteanions along the sheets, is established.