A new tetranuclear distorted open-cubane copper(II) Schiff base complex: Structural, spectral and magnetic characterizations

A new tetranuclear complex [Cu-4(L)(4)] (1) (H2L = N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-3-metoxysalicylaldimine) has been synthesized and characterized by crystal structure analysis and magnetic susceptibility. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies reveal that complex 1 contains three independent Cu4O4 open-cubane cores of 4+2 type (four short and two long Cu center dot center dot center dot Cu distances), where the copper(II) centers are linked by alkoxo-bridges. Each copper(II) ion have a distorted square-pyramidal geometry. Variable-temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements on the tetranuclear complex 1 in the range 2-300 K indicate dominant antiferromagnetic coupling (J =-108.46) between copper(II) centers.