A cyanide-bridged wheel featuring a seven-coordinate Mo(iii) center.

A new cyclic molecule incorporating [MoIII(CN)7]4- has been characterized by single crystal X-ray methods, SQUID magnetometry and theoretical calculations. The wheel molecule [MoIII(CN)7]6[Ni(L)]12(H2O)6 exhibits ferromagnetic Mo-Ni coupling which did not exist for the previously reported octacyanometallate analogue [MoIV(CN)8]6[Ni(L)]12(H2O)6. These results indicate that known supramolecular architectures incorporating octacyanometallates can be used as platforms for making new molecules incorporating seven-coordinate cyanide precursors.