Tridentate facial ligation of tris(pyridine-2-aldoximato)nickel(II) and tris(imidazole-2-aldoximato)nickel(II) To generate NiIIFeIIINiII, MnIIINiII, NiIINiII, and ZnIINiII and the electrooxidized MnIVNiII, NiIINiIII, and ZnIINiIII species: a magnetostructural, electrochemical, and EPR spectroscopic study

Eight hetero- and homometal complexes 1-6, containing the metal centers Ni(II)Fe(III)Ni(II) (1), Mn(III)Ni(II) (2), Ni(II)Ni(II) (3a-c and 4), Zn(II)Ni(II) (5), and Zn(II)Zn(II) (6), are described. The tridentate ligation property of the metal complexes tris(pyridine-2-aldoximato)nickel(II) and tris(1-methylimidazole-2-aldoximato)nickel(II) with three facially disposed pendent oxime O atoms has been utilized to generate the said complexes. Complex 1 contains metal centers in a linear arrangement, as is revealed by X-ray diffraction. Complexes were characterized by various physical methods including cyclic voltammetry (CV), variable-temperature (2-290 K) magnetic susceptibility, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) measurements, and X-ray diffraction methods. Binuclear complexes 2-6 are isostructural in the sense that they all contain a metal ion in a distorted octahedral environment MN(3)O(3) and a second six-coordinated Ni(II) ion in a trigonally distorted octahedral NiN(6) geometry. Complexes 1-4 display antiferromagnetic exchange coupling of the neighboring metal centers. The order of the strength of exchange coupling in the isostructural Ni(II)2 complexes, 3a-c, and 4, demonstrates the effects of the remote substituents on the spin coupling. The electrochemical measurements CV and square wave voltammograms (SQW) reveal two reversible metal-centered oxidations, which have been assigned to the Ni center ligated to the oxime N atoms, unless a Mn ion is present. Complex 2, Mn(III)Ni(II), exhibits a reduction of Mn(III) to Mn(II) and two subsequent oxidations of Mn(III) and Ni(II) to the corresponding higher states. These assignments of the redox processes have been complemented by the X-band EPR measurements. That the electrooxidized species 3a]+, 3b]+, 3c]+, and 4]+ contain the localized mixed-valent NiIINiIII system resulting from the spin coupling, a spin quartet ground state, S(t) = 3/2, has been confirmed by the X-band EPR measurements.