3.1. Synthesis and crystal structures of manganese–nitroxide complexes
Complexes [Mn(hfac)
2(NN-Pz-
R)]
n were prepared by interaction of manganese(II) hexafluoroacetylacetonate ([Mn(hfac)
2]) with nitronyl nitroxides (NNs), namely 2-(1-
R-3-pyrazol-4-yl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-2-imidazoline-3-oxide-1-oxyls (
R = CHF
2, CH
2CH
2F, CH
2CHF
2 or CH
2CF
3), in dry toluene at –15 °C. The single-crystal X-ray analysis revealed that compound [Mn(hfac)
2(NN-Pz-CHF
2)]
n crystallises in orthorhombic space group
I2/a. The structure of [Mn(hfac)
2(NN-Pz-CHF
2)]
n consists of 1D coordination chains shown in
Figure 1a. One can see that the paramagnetic NN-Pz-CHF
2 is a bridging bidentate ligand coordinated via the oxygen atom of one of the N–O groups and the nitrogen atom of the pyrazole ring. The coordination chains have a ‘head-to-head’ motif, and the nitroxide oxygen atoms and the nitrogen atom are coordinated to Mn in a
trans-configuration. Each manganese ion is sixfold coordinated and has almost isometric octahedral geometry. For the MnO
6 unit, the Mn–O
NO bond lengths are 2.143 Å, whereas the average Mn–O
hfac bond length is 2.139 Å. These values are close to those observed for other complexes of [Mn(hfac)
2] with nitronyl nitroxides [
46,
47]. For the MnO
4N
2 unit, the Mn–N bond lengths are 2.297 Å, whereas the Mn–O
hfac bond lengths are 2.132 and 2.138 Å. In the coordinated nitroxide group, the bond length [1.303(2) Å] is slightly elongated as compared with the non-coordinated one [1.273(2) Å]. The shortest inter-chain distances between O atoms of the nitroxide groups exceed 5 Å (the sum of van der Waals radii of O atoms is 3.04 Å); this arrangement allows one to expect only very weak exchange interactions between the chains.
Figure 1b shows a schematic diagram of possible magnetic interactions within the manganese–nitroxide chains; the direct coordination bonding of two O atoms to Mn(II) should give the largest exchange interaction, which is denoted as
J1, whereas magnetic couplings between Mn(II) ions and the nitroxide group via the pyrazole ring (denoted as
J2) should be weaker than
J1. The sign and magnitude of these interactions are discussed in the Magnetic Properties section.
Complex [Mn(hfac)
2(NN-Pz-CH
2CH
2F)]
n was found to crystallise in monoclinic space group
P2
1/c. The structure of [Mn(hfac)
2(NN-Pz-CH
2CH
2F)]
n also consists of 1D coordination chains (
Figure 2) formed by bridging bidentate ligand coordination via the nitroxide O atom and the N atom of the pyrazole ring. As opposed to [Mn(hfac)
2(NN-Pz-CHF
2)]
n, the coordination chains have a head-to-tail motif, and the nitroxide O atom and N atom are coordinated to Mn in a
cis-configuration. The coordination polyhedron of manganese is nearly isometric. The Mn–O
NO bond length is 2.145(2) Å, the Mn–N bond length is 2.236(2) Å, whereas the Mn–O
hfac bond lengths are 2.130(2), 2.144(2), 2.172(2) and 2.176(2) Å. In the coordinated nitroxide group, the bond length [1.305(3) Å] is slightly elongated as compared with the non-coordinated one [1.278(3) Å]. The shortest inter-chain distance between the oxygen atoms of nitroxide groups is 4.266 Å, which is also considerably greater than the sum of van der Waals radii of O atoms (3.04 Å).
The interaction of [Mn(hfac)
2] with NN-Pz-CH
2CHF
2 in dry toluene at –15 °C gave rise to complex [Mn(hfac)
2(NN-Pz-CH
2CHF
2)]
n⋅nC
7H
8 in the form of a solvate with toluene. Complex [Mn(hfac)
2(NN-Pz-CH
2CHF
2)]
n⋅nC
7H
8 was found to crystallise in the same monoclinic space group,
P2
1/n. The structure of [Mn(hfac)
2(NN-Pz-CH
2CHF
2)]
n also consists of 1D coordination chains (
Figure 3) with the head-to-tail motif and
cis-configuration of the Mn surroundings. The coordination of the manganese polyhedron is nearly isometric: the Mn–O
NO bond length is 2.138(3) Å, the Mn–N bond length is 2.245(3) Å whereas the Mn–O
hfac bond lengths lie in the range 2.126(2)–2.169(2) Å. In the coordinated nitroxide group, the bond length [1.309(4) Å] is slightly elongated as compared with the non-coordinated one [1.274(4) Å]. The shortest inter-chain distances between the oxygen atoms of nitroxide groups exceed 5.0 Å. After storage under ambient conditions, the complex [Mn(hfac)
2(NN-Pz-CH
2CHF
2)]
n⋅nC
7H
8 loses the solvate molecules while retaining the quality of the crystals. According to XRD data, crystal structure of desolated complex [Mn(hfac)
2(NN-Pz-CH
2CHF
2)]
n belongs to space group
P2
1/c. In [Mn(hfac)
2(NN-Pz-CH
2CHF
2)]
n, geometric parameters are almost the same as in its solvate with toluene, for example, the Mn–O
NO bond length is 2.147(2) Å, and the Mn–N bond length is 2.247(2) Å, whereas the Mn–O
hfac bond lengths lie in the range 2.126(2)–2.178(2) Å. N–O bond lengths are 1.310(3) and 1.277(3) Å for coordinated and non-coordinated nitroxide groups, respectively (
Figure S1).
In accordance with the structure of complexes [Mn(hfac)
2(NN-Pz-CH
2CH
2F)]
n and [Mn(hfac)
2(NN-Pz-CH
2CHF
2)]
n, there are two kinds of magnetic interactions in the chains: Mn(II)–nitroxide direct magnetic interactions,
J1, and Mn(II)–nitroxide interactions through the pyrazole ring:
J2 (
Figure 3b). It is known that nitroxide radicals directly bound to Mn(II) centres through the N–O group always exhibit much stronger magnetic coupling than that through a donor atom of the nitronyl nitroxide substituent [
48,
49,
50]. Therefore, from a magnetic point of view, the coordination chain can be described as strongly coupled two-spin clusters with relatively weak exchange between them:
J2. The quantification of these magnetic interactions is discussed in the Magnetic Properties section.
The reaction of Mn(hfac)
2 with NN-Pz-CH
2CF
3 led to the formation solvate complex [Mn(hfac)
2(NN-Pz-CH
2CF
3)]
2⋅2C
7H
8 having structure of a cyclic dimer (
Figure 4). Crystal structure of the complex belongs to the triclinic
P-1 space group. The structure of the complex results from the bridging bidentate ligand coordination via the nitroxide O atom and the N atom of the pyrazole ring. The Mn–O
NO bond length is 2.110(2) Å, and the Mn–N bond length is 2.278(2) Å, which are comparable to those observed in previously reported cyclic metal–nitroxide dimers [
51,
52,
53]. In the coordinated nitroxide group, the bond length is also slightly elongated [1.303(2) Å] as compared with the non-coordinated one [1.272(3) Å]. The Mn···Mn distance in the intra-dimer is 6.248 Å, which is shorter than the shortest inter-dimer Mn···Mn distance of 8.984 Å. The shortest distances between the uncoordinated NO groups is 4.886 Å. The packing diagram for [Mn(hfac)
2(NN-Pz-CH
2CF
3)]
2⋅2C
7H
8 is shown in
Figure S2. The cyclic dimers are arranged parallel to each other along the a-axis thereby forming stacks, between which the shortest contacts that are established by oxygen atoms (O1) of the uncoordinated nitroxide groups and hydrogen atoms (H6C) of methyl groups are 2.532 Å. It is also noteworthy that unlike complex [Mn(hfac)
2(NN-Pz-CH
2CHF
2)]
n⋅nC
7H
8, solvate complex [Mn(hfac)
2(NN-Pz-CH
2CF
3)]
2⋅2C
7H
8 is stable under ambient conditions and does not lose the solvent molecules.
In [Mn(hfac)
2(NN-Pz-CH
2CF
3)]
2, there are mainly two kinds of magnetic interactions for the present four-spin magnetic system, i.e. the magnetic interaction between the Mn(II) ion and the directly coordinated nitroxide group (
J1) and the magnetic coupling between the Mn(II) ion and nitroxide group through the pyrazole rings (
J2) (
Figure 4b). The second kind of magnetic coupling will be shown below to be weak and ferromagnetic (see the Magnetic Properties section).
The experimental powder XRD patterns of all complexes matched well the simulated XRD patterns based on the structures refined by single-crystal XRD analysis. In addition, elemental analyses yielded satisfactory results for all manganese–nitroxide complexes. The preparation of the complexes and their characterisation were repeated at least three times; the results (yields, crystal structures) were reproducible.
Notably, the reaction of [Mn(hfac)
2] with NN-Pz-R
F under the same conditions produced complexes of different types: a chain-polymeric complex with a head-to-head motif or head-to-tail motif as well as molecular complex. The reason is a fine influence of fluorinated alkyl substituents R in NN-Pz on a set of equilibrium constants predetermining concentrations of different species and their solubility (
Scheme 1). In NN-Pz-CH
2CF
3, the fluoroalkyl substituent somewhat reduces electron density on the donor nitrogen atom, and this effect obviously should favour the formation of a soluble Pz-NN−{Mn} complex with a coordinated NO group. If we assume that the acceptor ability of the manganese atom in Pz-NN−{Mn} is not sufficient to bind one more ligand, then the formation of a cyclic dimer with pairwise coordination bonds becomes preferable and therefore leads to precipitation of [Mn(hfac)
2(NN-Pz-CH
2CF
3)]
2. Incidentally, the reasons may be the same for the frequent formation of such dimers during the interaction of [Mn(hfac)
2] with hetaryl-substituted nitronyl nitroxides [
54,
55,
56,
57,
58,
59].
On the contrary, only one case is known when the reaction of [Mn(hfac)
2] with a hetaryl-substituted nitronyl nitroxide produces a chain-polymeric complex, moreover, having a head-to-head motif [
60]. In our case, the [Mn(hfac)
2(NN-Pz-CHF
2)]
n complex has similar structure, and its formation can be explained by the influence of the CHF
2 substituent, which reduces electron density on the donor nitrogen atom to such an extent that the formation of the corresponding dimer becomes thermodynamically unfavourable. Therefore, the process goes further along the path of coordination of another radical by the manganese ion through the NO group with the formation of a three-spin molecule: Pz-NN−{Mn}−NN-Pz. The interaction of the latter with the [Mn(hfac)
2] acceptor matrix eventually gives a poorly soluble chain-polymeric complex with a head-to-head motif (
Scheme 1). Incidentally, one can notice an interesting detail: only in this case does the complex precipitate into a solid phase very slowly (for approximately a week), whereas solid phases of the other complexes described here form much faster, within several hours. This finding indirectly indicates that the concentration of the Pz-NN−{Mn}−NN-Pz form that is necessary for the assembly of the solid phase of the [Mn(hfac)
2(NN-Pz-CHF
2)]
n complex is too low in the solution.
The structure of the two remaining complexes, [Mn(hfac)
2(NN-Pz-CH
2CH
2F)]
n and [Mn(hfac)
2(NN-Pz-CH
2CHF
2)]
n, is unprecedented. These are the first examples of manganese–nitroxide chain-polymeric complexes with a head-to-tail motif in which hetaryl-substituted nitronyl nitroxides serve as bidentate-bridging ligands. Their formation can be explained as follows: a decrease in electron acceptor properties of substituent R possibly enhances the donor ability of the nitrogen atom of the paramagnetic ligand to such an extent that the NN-Pz−{Mn} complex becomes preferable in solution, thereby causing crystallisation of the chain head-to-tail complexes (
Scheme 1).
The effect of R
F substituents on the course of the complexation reactions can also be observed visually. As mentioned above, the [Mn(hfac)
2(NN-Pz-CHF
2)]
n complex precipitates very slowly, and after 24 h, one can see the emergence of a small amount of the product (
Figure 5). In case of [Mn(hfac)
2(NN-Pz-CH
2CH
2F)]
n, after 24 h under the same conditions, a gel-like product initially arises, retaining the entire mother liquor. This product, upon further incubation of the reaction mixture for several days, transitions to a crystalline [Mn(hfac)
2(NN-Pz-CH
2CH
2F)]
n complex. The two latter complexes, [Mn(hfac)
2(NN-Pz-CH
2CH
2F)]
n and [Mn(hfac)
2(NN-Pz-CH
2CHF
2)]
n, form faster and after 24 h almost completely precipitate with the emergence of crystalline phases.
Thus, the fluorinated substituents in NN-Pz have a substantial effect on the structure of heterospin manganese–nitroxide complexes. It is noteworthy that their solid phases have different sets of exchange channels, and therefore a difference in magnetic behaviour is expected.
3.2. Magnetic properties
The temperature dependence of effective magnetic moment μ
eff for [Mn(hfac)
2(NN-Pz-CHF
2)]
n is shown in
Figure 6. The μ
eff value at 300 K is 5.17 μ
B and slightly decreases to reach a plateau of 4.99 μ
B in the temperature range 150–10 K. The observed μ
eff values in the temperature range 10–300 K are considerably less than the theoretical spin-only value of 6.16 μ
B for the non-interacting spin system of Mn
2+ and nitroxide based on the {Mn(hfac)
2(NN-Pz-CHF
2)} moiety. It is reasonable to explain the observed magnetic behaviour of [Mn(hfac)
2(NN-Pz-CHF
2)]
n by the strong antiferromagnetic interactions in {>N∸O–Mn
2+–O∸N<} three-spin exchange clusters, in which the spins of the coordinated N∸O groups partially compensate the spin of the Mn
2+ ion (
SMn = 5/2). In the range from 150 to 10 K, the μ
eff values are close to theoretical value μ
teor = (0.5⋅15 + 0.5⋅35)
1/2 = 5 μ
B, taking into account that the magnetic susceptibility contains contributions only from residual moments of the three-spin exchange clusters having a quartet ground state (
S = 3/2) and from the moments of the Mn
2+ ions located in MnO
4N
2 coordination units (
SMn = 5/2). The decline of μ
eff below 10 K down to 4.69 μ
B at 2 K is explained by the weak inter-chain antiferromagnetic interactions (
Figure 1b). Analysis of the experimental μ
eff(
T) dependence, using a trimer model for the {>N∸O–Mn
2+–O∸N<} exchange cluster (spin-Hamiltonian
H = –
2J(
SR1SMn + SMnSR2)) while taking into account magnetic susceptibility of the Mn
2+ ions located in MnO
4N
2 coordination units according to Curie law, allows to estimate exchange interaction energy. The best-fit values of g-factors and exchange interaction parameter
J are 2.01 ± 0.01 and –101.7 ± 1.5 cm
–1, respectively. The weaker exchange interactions,
Jn, are approximated as mean-field parameter
θ thus giving –0.005 ± 0.001 cm
–1.
For complexes [Mn(hfac)
2(NN-Pz-CH
2CH
2F)]
n and [Mn(hfac)
2(NN-Pz-CH
2CHF
2)]
n with a head-to-tail motif of chains, the μ
eff(
T) dependences are similar (
Figure 7). The μ
eff values are 5.34 and 5.37 μ
B and slightly decrease with diminishing temperature. The μ
eff values in the temperature range 300–50 K are close to the theoretical spin-only value of 4.90 μ
B for one paramagnetic centre with
S = 2, indicating realisation of strong antiferromagnetic exchange interactions in {Mn
2+–O∸N<} exchange clusters. Below 50 K, μ
eff values drop rapidly, which is caused by the weak inter-cluster interactions within the chains. Analysis of the experimental μ
eff(
T) dependences using two-spin model (spin-Hamiltonian
H = –2
JSMnSR) as reported in ref. [
61] enabled us to estimate exchange interaction energy in {Mn
2+–O∸N<} exchange clusters. The best-fit values of g-factors and exchange interaction parameter
J1 (see
Figure 3b) are 2.029 ± 0.003 and –136 ± 10 cm
–1 for [Mn(hfac)
2(NN-Pz-CH
2CH
2F)]
n, and 2.041 ± 0.002 and –82.3 ± 1.3 cm
–1, respectively, for [Mn(hfac)
2(NN-Pz-CH
2CHF
2)]
n. The weak exchange interactions between paramagnetic centers are approximated as mean-field parameter
θ thus giving 0.78 ± 0.01 cm
–1 and 0.18 ± 0.01 cm
–1, respectively. The small positive value of
θ may be attributed with FM exchange between the Mn(II) ion and the nitronyl nitroxide moiety through the pyrazole ring.
For cyclic dimer [Mn(hfac)
2(NN-Pz-CH
2CF
3)]
2, the temperature dependence of μ
eff is presented in
Figure 8a. The room temperature μ
eff value is approximately 7.52 μ
B. As the temperature is lowered, μ
eff slightly decreases, reaching a plateau of 7.20 μ
B at 100 K and then drops rapidly at temperatures below 15 K. In the temperature range of plateau 30–100 K, the observed μ
eff values are considerably less than the theoretical spin-only value (8.72 μ
B) for the non-interacting spin system of two Mn
2+ ions and two nitroxide ligands based on the unit with the [Mn(hfac)
2(NN-Pz-CH
2CF
3)]
2 formula. As in the previous complexes, the observed magnetic behaviour of [Mn(hfac)
2(NN-Pz-CH
2CF
3)]
2 can be explained by the strong antiferromagnetic interactions in {Mn
2+–O∸N<} exchange clusters, in which the spins of the coordinated N∸O groups are completely coupled to the two spins of Mn
2+. Therefore, the magnetic susceptibility has contributions only from the residual moments of two exchange clusters (
S = 2) (the theoretical spin-only magnetic moment of μ
teor = 6.93 μ
B). The further decrease in μ
eff at T < 10 can be attributed to the weak interactions between two-spin {Mn
2+–O∸N<} exchange clusters. Analysis of the experimental μ
eff(
T) dependences with a tetramer model using spin-Hamiltonian
H = –
2J1(SMn1SR1 + SMn2SR2) –
2J2(SMn1SR2 + SMn2SR1) as reported in refs. [
58,
62] gives the best fit values of g-factors and exchange interaction parameters
J1 and
J2: 2.0036 ± 0.002, –87.4 ± 1.3 cm
–1 and 0.81 ± 0.01 cm
–1, respectively. Parameter
J1 corresponds to strong antiferromagnetic exchange in the {Mn
2+–O∸N<} moieties, and
J2 corresponds to weak interactions between spins of the Mn
2+ ion and the nitroxide coordinated via the N atom.
The strong antiferromagnetic interaction can be attributed to the effective overlap between the π-SOMO orbital containing the unpaired electrons of the nitronyl nitroxide moiety and
d orbitals of the Mn(II) ion [
63]. The experimental
J1 value in [Mn(hfac)
2(NN-Pz-CH
2CF
3)]
2 has the same order of magnitude as that observed in different dimeric complexes (
Table S2). The observed difference in antiferromagnetic coupling (from –74 to –208 cm
–1) may be ascribed to the different coordination geometry of the manganese–nitroxide spin cluster affecting the overlap of the magnetic orbitals. The small positive
J2 value shows that a weak ferromagnetic coupling exists between the two {Mn–O-N} moieties and is mediated by the pyrazole rings (
Figure 8b) thus giving rise to the non-magnetic ground spin state. This weak ferromagnetic interaction can be explained by the spin polarization mechanism.