New Mn12 clusters with tunable oxidation states via the use of N,N,N',N'-tetrakis(2-hydroxyethyl)ethylenediamine.

Room-temperature reactions of N,N,N',N'-tetrakis(2-hydroxyethyl)ethylenediamine with manganese(II) salts yield a novel family of Mn(12) clusters incorporating the same Mn(12)O(4) core and tunable oxidation states of Mn(III)(x)Mn(II)(12-x) (x = 8, 10, and 12). Magnetic susceptibility data indicate that the spin of the ground state increases as the number of Mn(III) ions is increased, leading to increases in the magnitude of the out-of-phase ac susceptibility signal as the number of Mn(III) ions is increased.