Manganese/cerium clusters spanning a range of oxidation levels and CeMn(8), Ce(2)Mn(4), and Ce(6)Mn(4) nuclearities: structural, magnetic, and EPR properties.

The syntheses, structures, and magnetic properties are reported for three new Ce/Mn clusters with different Ce/Mn ratios: [Ce6Mn4O12(O2CMe)10(NO3)4(py)4] (py = pyridine) (1), [CeMn8O8(O2CCH2(t)Bu)12(DMF)14] (DMF = dimethylformamide) (2), and [Ce2Mn4O2(O2CMe)6(NO3)4(hmp)4] (3; hmp(-) is the anion of 2-(hydroxymethyl)pyridine). 1 and 2 were obtained from the reaction of Ce(IV) with [Mn12O12(O2CMe)16(H2O)4] (Mn(III)8Mn(IV)4) and [Mn8O2(O2CCH2(t)Bu)14((t)BuCH2CO2H)4] (Mn(II)6Mn(III)2), respectively, whereas 3 resulted from the oxidation of Mn(II) acetate with Ce(IV) in the presence of hmpH. Cluster 1 possesses an unusual [Ce6Mn4O12](14+) core topology consisting of a [Ce6O8] face-capped octahedron, which is face-fused at each end to a [Ce(IV)2Mn(III)Mn(IV)O4] cubane. Cluster 2 possesses a nonplanar, saddlelike loop of eight Mn(III) atoms bridged by eight μ3-O(2-) ions to a central Ce(IV) atom. Cluster 3 is similar to 1 in possessing an octahedral core, but this is now a [Ce2Mn4] octahedron consisting of a Ce(III) atom on either side of a Mn4 parallelogram, with the metal atoms bridged by two μ4-O(2-) ions, the alkoxide arms of four hmp(-) groups, and six acetates. Clusters 1, 2, and 3 are thus at the Ce(IV)6Mn(III)2Mn(IV)2, Ce(IV)Mn(III)8, and Ce(III)2Mn(III)4 oxidation levels, respectively. Variable-temperature, solid-state direct current (DC) and alternating current (AC) magnetization studies on 1-3 in the 5.0-300 K range revealed predominantly antiferromagnetic exchange interactions within the complexes. For 1, fitting of the DC data to the theoretical expression for a dinuclear Mn(III)Mn(IV) complex derived using the Van Vleck equation and an isotropic spin Hamiltonian (ℋ = -2JŜi·Ŝj convention) gave a value for the exchange coupling parameter (J) of -60.4(7) cm(-1) and a Landé factor g = 2.00(1), indicating an S = 1/2 ground state. For 2, both DC and AC data indicate an S = 0 ground state, which is unprecedented for a member of the CeMn8 family and now means members of the latter have been made that span the whole range of possible ground states from S = 0 to the maximum S = 16. Cluster 3 possesses an S = 0 ground state for its Mn4 fragment, with the paramagnetism remaining at low temperature coming from the weakly coupled Ce(III) centers. These three species are new additions to the Mn-Ce family of clusters and the broader class of 3d/4f molecular systems.