Use of 6-methylpyridine-2-carbaldehydeoxime in nickel(ii) carboxylate chemistry: synthetic, structural and magnetic properties of penta and hexanuclear complexes

Abstract

The use of 6-methylpyridine-2-carbaldehydeoxime ligand (6-mepaoH), in nickel(II) chemistry has been investigated and three new clusters isolated in mild conditions. Depending on the nature of the metal starting salts and the reaction conditions, the Ni(II)/6-mepaoH system has provided access to the complexes [Ni(6)(O(2)CPh)(6)(6-mepao)(6)] (1), [Ni(6)(O(2)CMe)(6)(6-mepao)(6)] (2) and [Ni(5)(3-Cl-BzO)(4)(6-mepao)(4)(6-mepaoH)(2)(N(3))(2)] (3), where 3-Cl-BzO(-) is the 3-chlorobenzoate anion. Compounds 1 and 2 are two new members of the [Ni(6)(O(2)C-R)(oximato)(6)] family of hexanuclear complexes whereas 3 exhibits an unusual irregular bowtie topology including end-on azido bridges. The structures of the three compounds have been determined by single-crystal X-ray crystallography. Variable-temperature dc magnetic susceptibility studies were carried out for 1-3. The data indicate antiferromagnetic exchange for complexes 1 and 2 and ferrimagnetic interaction for complex 3.