Synthesis, structural aspects and magnetic properties of an unusual 2D thiocyanato-bridged cobalt(II)–Schiff base network

A new two-dimensional (2D) thiocyanato-bridged cobalt(II) network formulated as [LCo2(NCS)2]n (1), has been synthesized with the Schiff base ligand N,N′-bis(3-methoxysalicylidenimino)-1,3-diaminopropane (H2L) and thiocyanate anions. This novel layered compound has been completely characterized by elemental analysis, FT-IR, UV–Vis spectroscopy and the structure has been established by single crystal X-ray diffraction studies. The structure of 1 consists of a doubly phenoxo-bridged dimer comprising two different cobalt(II) centers with different coordination geometries (octahedral and tetrahedral). The 2D network is accomplished by bridging thiocyanate ligands, connecting the dimeric motifs in an end-to-end fashion. Variable-temperature magnetic susceptibility and EPR measurements reveal predominant antiferromagnetic exchange interaction in the complex.