Synthesis, Structure And Magnetic Properties Of A Novel High-Nuclearity Oxo-Carboxylate [Znxco13-X(Mu(4)-O)(4)(O2cph)(18)] Cluster

The charge-neutral bimetallic Zn(ii)/Co(ii) tridecanuclear oxocarboxylate cluster [ZnxCo13-x(mu(4)-O)(4)(O2CPh)(18)] (x approximate to 5.6) was synthesized under anaerobic conditions by the controlled hydrolysis of an alkylzinc carboxylate [EtZn(O2CPh)] in the presence of cobalt(ii) benzoate Co(O2CPh)(2). The composition and molecular structure of the resulting aggregates were solved by a combination of elemental analysis, infrared spectroscopy and single-crystal X-ray diffraction.