Strong Exchange Coupling in a Trimetallic Radical-Bridged Cobalt(II)-Hexaazatrinaphthylene Complex

Abstract

: Reducing hexaazatrinaphthylene (HAN) with potassium in the presence of 18-c-6 produces [{K(18-c-6)}HAN], which contains the S = 1/2 radical [HAN]C ¢ . The [HAN]C ¢ radical can be transferred to the cobalt(II) amide [Co{N- (SiMe3 )2 }2 ], forming [K(18-c-6)][(HAN){Co(N’’)2 }3 ]; magnetic measurements on this compound reveal an S = 4 spin system with strong cobalt–ligand antiferromagnetic exchange and J ¢290 cm¢1 (¢2 J formalism). In contrast, the CoII centres in the unreduced analogue [(HAN){Co(N’’)2}3] are weakly coupled (J ¢4.4 cm¢1 ). The finding that [HAN]C ¢ can be synthesized as a stable salt and transferred to cobalt introduces potential new routes to magnetic materials based on strongly coupled, triangular HAN building blocks.