Hetero-octanuclear cubane-like and one-dimensional cyano complexes with the N,N-dimethylethylenediamine ligand

Abstract

A series of complexes containing dmen (dmen=N,N-dimethylethylenediamine) units and cyano groups, namely bimetallic octanuclear and binuclear [Zn4(dmen)8Ni4(CN)16] (1), [Cd4(dmen)8Ni4(CN)16] (2), [Zn(dmen)2Pd(μ-CN)2(CN)2] (3) and [Cd(dmen)2Pd(μ-CN)2(CN)2] (4), have been synthesized and characterized by elemental, spectral (FT-IR and Raman) and thermal analyses techniques. The molecular structures of the complexes have been determined by the single crystal X-ray diffraction technique. The X-ray analyses of 1 and 2 show heterometallic octanuclear cubane-like structures in which Zn(II) or Cd(II) and Ni(II) ions reside in alternate corners, whereas complexes 3 and 4 display one-dimensional chain structures.