Synthesis and characterization of a new family of bi-, tri-, tetra-, and pentanuclear ferric complexes.

Nine members of a new family of polynuclear ferric complexes have been synthesized and characterized. The reaction of Fe(O(2)CMe)(2) with polydentate Schiff base proligands (H(2)L) derived from salicylidene-2-ethanolamine, followed in some cases by reaction with carboxylic acids, has afforded new complexes of general formulas [Fe(2)(pic)(2)(L)(2)] (where pic(-) is the anion of 2-picolinic acid), [Fe(3)(O(2)CMe)(3)(L)(3)], [Fe(4)(OR)(2)(O(2)CMe)(2)(L)(4)], and [Fe(5)O(OH)(O(2)CR)(4)(L)(4)]. The tri-, tetra-, and pentanuclear complexes all possess unusual structures and novel core topologies. Mössbauer spectroscopy confirms the presence of high-spin ferric centers in the tri- and pentanuclear…