Formation of unusual molecular rectangles and squares containing low spin and high spin Co(ii) and Fe(ii) centers

Abstract

The ditopic carbohydrazide and thiocarbohydrazide based ligands H₂L1 and H₂L2 react with Co(II)(OAc)₂ to produce the homoleptic Co(II) molecular rectangles 1 and 2, containing either a mixture of high spin and low spin Co(II) sites or exclusively low spin Co(II) centers, respectively, with two mono-deprotonated ligands in a syn-conformation, and the other two doubly-deprotonated ligands in an anti-arrangement. The Co(II) centers are bridged by μ-O/S and μ-N–N groups, respectively. Magnetic susceptibility measurements indicate weak antiferromagnetic coupling between metal centers in 1 and 2, with room temperature magnetic moments of 6.6 and 3.4 μ_B, respectively, in good agreement with two S = 3/2 and two S = 1/2 centers for 1 and four S = 1/2 centers for 2. Reaction of H₂L1 and H₂L2 with Fe(II)(CF₃SO₃)₂ in the presence of a base leads to the formation of μ-O/S bridged homoleptic molecular squares 3 and 4, with the Fe(II) centers in high spin and low spin configurations, respectively at room temperature, as indicated from X-ray structural data and magnetic susceptibility measurements. However, in 3 one Fe(II) site undergoes spin crossover to a low spin state at about 150 K, while 4 stays diamagnetic in the full 2–300 K temperature range. Electrochemistry of 4 showed four distinct reversible red-ox waves associated with step-by-step one electron processes in the molecular square [−0.643 (ΔE_p = 81 mV), −0.278 (ΔE_p = 70 mV), +0.565 (ΔE_p = 65 mV), ∼1.1 V], associated with the Fe(II)/Fe(III) red-ox couples.