The aim of this work was to determine and understand the origin of the electronic properties of Mn(IV) complexes, especially the zero-field splitting (ZFS), through a combined experimental and theoretical investigation on five well-characterized mononuclear octahedral Mn(IV) compounds, with various coordination spheres (N6, N3O3, N2O4 in both trans (trans-N2O4) and cis configurations (cis-N2O4) and O4S2). High-frequency and -field EPR (HFEPR) spectroscopy has been applied to determine the ZFS parameters of two of these compounds, MnL(trans-N2O4) and MnL(O4S2). While at X-band EPR, the axial-component of the ZFS tensor, D, was estimated to be +0.47 cm(-1) for MnL(O4S2), and a D-value of +2.289(5) cm(-1) was determined by HFEPR, which is the largest D-magnitude ever measured for a Mn(IV) complex. A moderate D value of -0.997(6) cm(-1) has been found for MnL(trans-N2O4). Quantum chemical calculations based on two theoretical frameworks (the Density Functional Theory based on a coupled perturbed approach (CP-DFT) and the hybrid Ligand-Field DFT (LF-DFT)) have been performed to define appropriate methodologies to calculate the ZFS tensor for Mn(IV) centers, to predict the orientation of the magnetic axes with respect to the molecular ones, and to define and quantify the physical origin of the different contributions to the ZFS. Except in the case of MnL(trans-N2O4), the experimental and calculated D values are in good agreement, and the sign of D is well predicted, LF-DFT being more satisfactory than CP-DFT. The calculations performed on MnL(cis-N2O4) are consistent with the orientation of the principal anisotropic axis determined by single-crystal EPR, validating the calculated ZFS tensor orientation. The different contributions to D were analyzed demonstrating that the d-d transitions mainly govern D in Mn(IV) ion. However, a deep analysis evidences that many factors enter into the game, explaining why no obvious magnetostructural correlations can be drawn in this series of Mn(IV) complexes.

An unprecedented antiferromagnetic exchange mediated by two -O-Zn-O- bridges, with singlet-triplet splitting J= 35.0 cm-1, was observed between two copper centers separated by 5.7062(9)A in the heterometallomacrocyclic diethanolamine (H2L) complex [Cu2Zn2(NH3)2Br2(HL)4]Br2.CH3OH.

The reaction of Co(CHCOO)·4HO with the Schiff base ligand LH derived from o-vanillin and tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane produces the dinuclear mixed-valence complex [CoCo(LH)(CHCOO)(HO)](HO) (1), which has been investigated using IR spectroscopy, X-ray crystallography, temperature-dependent magnetic susceptibility, magnetization, HFEPR spectroscopy, and ac susceptibility measurements at various frequencies, temperatures, and external magnetic fields. The structure of 1 consists of neutral molecules in which two cobalt ions with distorted octahedral geometries, CoO and CoNO, are bridged by two deprotonated -CHO groups of the two LH ligands. 1 completes a series with Cl, Br, NO, and NCS anions published before by different authors. Low-temperature HFEPR measurements reveal that the ground electronic state of the Co(II) center in 1 is a highly anisotropic Kramers doublet; the effective g values of 7.18, 2.97, and 1.96 are frequency-independent over the frequency ranges 200-630, 200-406, and 200-300 GHz for the highest, intermediate, and lowest g values, respectively. The two lower values were not seen at higher frequencies because the magnetic field was not high enough. Temperature-dependent magnetic susceptibility and field-dependent magnetization data confirm high magnetic anisotropy of the easy axis type. Complex 1 behaves as a single-ion magnet under a small applied external field and demonstrates two relaxation modes that strongly depend on the applied static dc field. The observation of multiple relaxation pathways clearly distinguishes 1 from the Cl and Br analogues.

The novel heterometallic complex [Cu(4)(NH(3))(4)(HL)(4)][CdBr(4)]Br(2).3dmf.H(2)O has been prepared in the reaction of zerovalent copper with cadmium oxide in the air-exposed solution of ammonium bromide and diethanolamine (H(2)L) in dimethylformamide (dmf). The compound is monoclinic, with space group P2(1)/c, a = 14.876(3) A, b = 33.018(6) A, c = 11.437(2) A, beta = 108.182(3)(o), and Z = 4. The crystal lattice consists of [Cu(4)(NH(3))(4)(HL)(4)](4+) cations, [CdBr(4)](2)(-), Br(-) anions, and uncoordinated dmf and water molecules. In the cation, four independent Cu atoms occupy vertexes of a distorted tetrahedron with bridged Cu...Cu distances in the range 3.127(2)-3.333(3) A and other Cu...Cu separations being 3.445(3)-3.503(2) A. The magnetic susceptibility and the EPR spectra were measured over the temperature ranges 1.8-300 and 3-300 K, respectively. The magnetic moment was found to increase with decreasing temperature to reach a maximum of 2.60 muB per one copper atom at ca. 10 K and was found, subsequently, to diminish slightly at lower temperatures owing to zero-field and Zeeman splitting of the S = 2 ground state. The temperature dependence of the magnetic susceptibility was fitted to the spin Hamiltonian H = J(ab)S(a)S(b) + J(bc)S(b)S(c) + J(cd)S(c)S(d) + J(ad)S(a)S(d) + J(ac)S(a)S(c) + J(bd)S(b)S(d) with the exchange integrals J(ab) = J(bc) = J(cd) = J(ad) = -65(3) cm(-1) and J(ac) = J(bd) = +1(3) cm(-1). High-field, high-frequency (95-380 GHz) EPR spectra due to an S = 2 ground state were simulated with g(x) = 2.138(1), g(y)) = 2.142(1), g(z) = 2.067(1), D = -0.3529(3) cm(-1), and E = -0.0469(8) cm(-1). Calculations based on the X-ray structure indicate a negligible contribution of the magnetic dipole-dipole interactions to the zfs parameters D and E. A discussion of the isotropic and anisotropic exchange interactions and their effect on the zfs parameters is also given.