Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 17, 2026

Manganese Oxide Nanoparticle Synthesis by Thermal Decomposition of Manganese(II) Acetylacetonate
Published on: June 18, 2020
Synthesis and characterization of an asymmetric, linear, trinuclear manganese(II) complex
Cristina M Coates1, Stephanie R Fiedler, T Laura McCullough
1Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama 36849, USA.
Abstract:
After prolonged heating in acetonitrile, a highly asymmetric, trinuclear manganous complex self-assembles from MnCl(2) and bis(2-pyridylmethyl)-1,2-ethanediamine (bispicen). The central Mn(II) ion is bridged to the terminal metal ions in the molecule by single chloride anions. The organic ligands each bind to a single Mn(II) ion. The central Mn(II) and only one of the terminal Mn(II) ions are six-coordinate and bound to bispicen ligands. The remaining terminal Mn(II) ion is coordinated by a tetrahedral array of chloride anions, endowing the trinuclear cluster with a high degree of asymmetry. Variable temperature magnetic measurements are consistent with an S = 5/2 system, indicating net antiferromagnetic coupling.
Related Concept Videos
Colors and Magnetism
When atoms or molecules absorb light at the proper frequency, their electrons are excited to higher-energy orbitals. For many main group atoms and molecules, the absorbed photons are in the ultraviolet range of the electromagnetic spectrum, which cannot be detected by the human eye. For coordination compounds, the energy difference between the d orbitals often allows photons in the visible range to be absorbed and emitted, which is seen as colors by the human eye.
Valence Bond Theory
Stereoisomerism
Isomers are different chemical species that have the same chemical formula.
Transition metal complexes often exist as geometric isomers, in which the same atoms are connected through the same types of bonds but with differences in their orientation in space. Coordination complexes with two different ligands in the cis and trans positions from a ligand of interest form isomers. For example, the octahedral [Co(NH3)4Cl2]+ ion has two isomers (Figure 1) In the cis...
Radical Oxidation of Allylic and Benzylic Alcohols
Coordination Number and Geometry
Structural Isomerism
Isomers are different chemical species that have the same chemical formula. Structural isomerism of coordination compounds can be divided into two subcategories, the linkage isomers and coordination-sphere isomers.
Linkage isomers occur when the coordination compound contains a ligand that can bind to the transition metal center through two different atoms. For example, the CN− ligand can bind through the carbon atom or through the nitrogen atom. Similarly, SCN− can be...

