Reduced Anionic Mn12 Molecules with Half-Integer Ground States as Single-Molecule Magnets

The preparation, characterization, and X-ray structure are reported for the single-molecule magnet (PPh4)[Mn12O12(O2CPh)16(H2O)4]·8(CH2Cl2) (2). Complex 2 crystallizes in the triclinic space group P1, which at 213 K has a = 17.2329(2), b = 17.8347(2), c = 26.8052(2) A, α = 90.515(2), β = 94.242(2), γ = 101.437(2)°, and Z = 2. The salt consists of PPh4+ cations and [Mn12O12(O2CPh)16(H2O)4]- anions. The (Mn12O12)15+ core of the anion is formed by an external ring of eight Mn atoms bridged by μ3−O2- ions to an internal tetrahedron of four Mn atoms. Because of disorder in both phenyl rings and solvate molecules, it was difficult to use bond valence sum values to determine definitively the oxidation state of each Mn atom. There is a Mn4O4 cubane unit in the internal part of the molecule and these Mn atoms are all MnIV ions. For the eight “external” Mn atoms the bond valence sum values did not define well their oxidation states. For these eight Mn atoms, it was not possible to determine whether a trapped-valen...