The generation of a trinuclear cobalt (II) core supported by differing tridentate acetate bridges

Reaction of the compartmental proligand H2L2 with Co(OAc)2 has given the trinuclear cobalt(II) complex [Co3L3(OAc)2(NCS)2], 1, in which the trinuclear core is supported by two tridentate acetate bridges, one in μ-acetato-κO,κO′;κO-bridging mode and the other in μ3-acetato-κO;κO;κO′-bridging mode. Two of the cobalt atoms are six-coordinate and the third is five-coordinate. The crystal structures of 1 and the dinuclear Ni(II) complexes [Ni2(L2)(OAc)2(NCS)], 2, and [Ni2(L2)(OAc)2(MeOH)2][PF6] · MeOH, 3, are reported.