Novel Tetranuclear Heterometallic Mn3Ni and Mononuclear Ni Complexes with an ONO Schiff Base Ligand: Synthesis, Crystal Structures, and Magnetic Properties

A mononuclear Ni(II) complex, [Ni(HL1)2], (1) and a novel tetranuclear heterometal Mn-Ni complex, [Mn3Ni(L1)4Cl2(EtOH)2], (2) [H2L1 = N-(2-hydroxymethylphenyl)salicylideneimine], have been synthesized and characterized via X-ray crystal structure analyses, infrared spectra, and elemental analyses. The structure analyses revealed that the tridentate ligand, H2L1, coordinates in a facial mode for Ni and a mer mode for Mn, respectively. Complex 2 includes Mn(II)Mn(III)2Ni(II) tetranuclear metal core bridged by μ-phenoxo and μ-alkoxo oxygens. Magnetic measurements for 2 indicate that weak ferromagnetic interactions (JMn(III)Ni(II) = 2.23, JMn(III)Mn(II) = 0.46, JMn(II)Ni(II) = 1.78, and JMn(III)Mn(III) = 0.58 cm−1) dominate in the tetranuclear core. Additionally, in alternating current (AC) magnetic measurements, frequency-dependent out-of-phase responses were observed.