Synthesis, crystal structure and EPR studies of two coordination compounds containing the 2,2-dicyano-1-ethoxyethenolate anion

Abstract In this work, we report the synthesis, crystal structures and EPR studies of two coordination compounds containing two tetracyanoethylene derivatives, 2,2-dicyano-1-ethoxyethenolate (dcne) and 1,2,2-tricyanoethenolate (tce) anions, and the ancillary ligand 5,5′-dimethyl-2,2′-bipyridine (dmbpy). Compound [Mn(dcne) 2 (dmbpy) 2 ] ( 1 ) consists of a mononuclear complex, in which the Mn II ion lies in a distorted octahedral environment. On the other hand, the compound [Cu 2 (dcne) 2 (dmbpy) 2 (H 2 O) 2 ](tce)NO 3 ( 2 ) consists of a dinuclear complex, in which the coordination geometry of the Cu II ions is slightly distorted square-pyramidal. EPR studies indicated a very weak anti-ferromagnetic coupling among the Mn II spins in 1 , and the magnetic properties of 2 are consistent with isolated Cu II ions.