ABSTRACT
Tetranuclear copper(II) complexes were obtained after simply dissolving [Cu(hfac)2] in formamide-methanol mixed solvents (Hhfac=1,1,1,5,5,5-hexafluoropentane-2,4-dione). X-Ray diffraction studies revealed that they possessed a tetranuclear double half-cubane core sandwiched with two trianionic ligands from 2,4,6-tris(trifluoromethyl)tetrahydropyran-2,4,6-triol (H3ttpt). Complexes [Cu4(ttpt)2(hfac)2(dmf)2.5], [Cu4(ttpt)2(tfa)2(def)4], and [Cu4(ttpt)2(hfac)2(H2O)4](fa) were prepared from N,N-dimethylformamide(dmf)-MeOH, N,N-diethylformamide (def)-MeOH, and formamide(fa)-MeOH (Htfa=trifluoroacetic acid), respectively. A possible mechanism is proposed where a templated aldol-type reaction takes place between hfac and 1,1,1-trifluoroacetonate. Magnetic measurements revealed the presence of antiferromagnetic interaction in the Cu4O6 core.
