Structure and magnetic properties of a hydroxo-bridged copper(II) distorted cubane stabilized via supramolecular hydrogen bonding with an ionic hexafluoroacetylacetonate.

Tetranuclear [Cu(II)4(OH)4(aib)4)](hfac)4 (1; aib = 2-methyl-2-amino-4-iminopentane; hfac = hexafluoroacetylacetonate) forms from the reaction of aqueous ammonia and Cu(hfac)2.2H2O in acetone. The structure of 1 reveals that four noncoordinating hfac- counterions stabilize the distorted cubane complex via multiple H-bonding contacts. Magnetic susceptibility studies reveal that cubane-like 1 is best described as a pair of independent antiferromagnetically coupled dimers with g = 2.10 and J/kB = -298 K (207 cm(-1)) (H = -2JS1.S2).