Structures of bimetallic FeIII-FeIII and trimetallic FeIII-K-FeIII complexes incorporating the deprotonated ligand N,N'-bis-(2-hy-droxy-3-methoxy-ben-zyl-idene)-1,2-phenyl-enedi-amine.

The title compounds μ-oxido-bis-[(2-{[2-(3-meth-oxy-2-oxido-benzyl-idene-amino)-phenyl-imino]-meth-yl}-6-meth-oxy-phenolato)iron(III)] penta-hydrate, [Fe2(C22H18N2O4]·5H2O or {[(FeIII(L)](μ2-O)[FeIII(L)]}·5H2O (2), and di-chlorido-bis-(μ-2-{[2-(3-meth-oxy-2-oxido-benzyl-idene-amino)-phenyl-imino]-meth-yl}-6-meth-oxy-phenolato)diiron(III)potassium(I) nitrate, [KFe2(C22H18N2O4)2Cl2]NO3 or {[(FeIII(L)(Cl)](K)[FeIII(L)(Cl)]}·NO3 (3), were formed from the reaction of the metallo-ligand [FeII(L)]·(H2O) (H2 L is 2-{[2-(2-hy-droxy-3-meth-oxy-benzyl-idene-amino)-phenyl-imino]-meth-yl}-6-meth-oxy-phenol, C22H20N2O4) with yttrium acetate and potassium nitrate, respectively. In complex 2, the FeIII ions, which presumably arise through aerial oxidation from FeII, have a distorted square-pyramidal environment and are bridged by a μ2 oxo oxygen atom with an Fe-O-Fe angle of 137.97 (5)°. In complex (3) the environment around the FeIII ions is a distorted square pyramid. All four phenoxo oxygen atoms link the FeIII ions to a potassium atom (site symmetry 2), yielding two four-membered Fe/O/K/O rings. The K+ ion is linked also to four meth-oxy oxygen atoms.