Strong Exchange Coupling in a Trimetallic Radical-Bridged Cobalt(II)-Hexaazatrinaphthalene Complex

Reducing hexaazatrinaphthylene (HAN) with potassium in the presence of 18-c-6 produces [{K(18-c-6)}HAN], which contains the S=1/2 radical [HAN].−. The [HAN].− radical can be transferred to the cobalt(II) amide [Co{N(SiMe3)2}2], forming [K(18-c-6)][(HAN){Co(N′′)2}3]; magnetic measurements on this compound reveal an S=4 spin system with strong cobalt–ligand antiferromagnetic exchange and J≈−290 cm−1 (−2 J formalism). In contrast, the CoII centres in the unreduced analogue [(HAN){Co(N′′)2}3] are weakly coupled (J≈−4.4 cm−1). The finding that [HAN].− can be synthesized as a stable salt and transferred to cobalt introduces potential new routes to magnetic materials based on strongly coupled, triangular HAN building blocks.