Abstract
A novel tetradecanuclear mixed-valent cobalt cluster, formulated as [(Co10Co4III)-Co-II(OH)(2)O-6(hmp)(10)(pdm)(4)(CH3OH)(2)]center dot 5H(2)O (1), was obtained using mixed ligands of 2-(hydroxymethyl) pyridine (hmpH) and 2,6-pyridinedimethanol (pdmH(2)). The cobalt ions in 1 are connected by ten chelating hmp(-) ligands, four tris-chelating pdm(2-) ligands and six mu(3)-oxide/hydroxide anions, forming a unique shield-like planar structure that is rarely observed for Co-based clusters. Compound 1 displays slight frequency dependence at static zero field below 4.5 K, suggesting that it might be a single molecule magnet (SMM).