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Updated: Aug 14, 2025

From Molecules to Materials: Engineering New Ionic Liquid Crystals Through Halogen Bonding
Published on: March 24, 2018
Structural insight into halide-coordinated [Fe4S4XY4-]2- clusters (X, Y = Cl, Br, I) by XRD and Mössbauer
Andreas O Schüren1,2, Benjamin M Ridgway2, Florencia Di Salvo2,3
1Universität zu Köln, Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät, Department für Chemie, Institut für Anorganische Chemie, Greinstraße 6, D-50939 Köln, Germany. axel.klein@uni-koeln.de.
Abstract:
Iron sulphur halide clusters [Fe4S4Br4]2- and [Fe4S4X2Y2]2- (X, Y = Cl, Br, I) were obtained in excellent yields (77 to 78%) and purity from [Fe(CO)5], elemental sulphur, I2 and benzyltrimethylammonium (BTMA+) iodide, bromide and chloride. Single crystals of (BTMA)2[Fe4S4Br4] (1), (BTMA)2[Fe4S4Br2Cl2] (2), (BTMA)2[Fe4S4Cl2I2] (3), and (BTMA)2[Fe4S4Br2I2] (4) were isostructural to the previously reported (BTMA)2[Fe4S4I4] (5) (monoclinic, Cc). Instead of the chloride cubane cluster [Fe4S4Cl4]2-, we found the prismane-shaped cluster (BTMA)3[Fe6S6Cl6] (6) (P1̄). 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy indicates complete delocalisation with Fe2.5+ oxidation states for all iron atoms. Magnetic measurements showed small χMT values at 298 K ranging from 1.12 to 1.54 cm3 K mol-1, indicating the dominant antiferromagnetic exchange interactions. With decreasing temperature, the χMT values decreased to reach a plateau at around 100 K. From about 20 K, the values drop significantly. Fitting the data in the Heisenberg-Dirac-van Vleck (HDvV) as well as the Heisenberg Double Exchange (HDE) formalism confirmed the delocalisation and antiferromagnetic coupling assumed from Mössbauer spectroscopy.
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