Polynuclear metal clusters frequently feature geometric structural features not common in traditional coordination chemistry. These structures are of particular interest to bioinorganic chemists studying metallocluster enzymes, which frequently possess remarkably unusual inorganic structures. The structure of the manganese cluster μ5-oxido-di-μ3-phenoxido-hexa-μ-phenoxido-hexakis(pyridine-κN)hexamanganese(II) pyridine monosolvate, [Mn5(C6H5O)8O(C5H5N)6]·C5H5N or MnII5(μ-OPh)6(μ3-OPh)2(μ5-O)(Py)6·Py, containing an unusual trigonal bipyramidal central oxide, is described. The compound was isolated from a reaction mixture containing bis(trimethylsilylamido)manganese(II) and phenol. The central O atom is presumed to have originated as adventitious water. The molecule crystalizes in a primitive monoclinic crystal system and is presented in the centrosymetric P2/n space group. The molecule possesses crystallographically imposed twofold symmetry, with the central O atom centred on the twofold axis and surrounded by a distorted trigonal bipyramidal arrangement of Mn atoms, which are further bridged by phenoxide ligands, and terminally ligated by pyridine. A pyridine solvent molecule resides nearby, also situated on a crystallographic twofold axis. The cluster is compared to three closely related previously reported structures.
Keywords: crystal structure; manganese cluster; photosystem II; trigonal bipyramidal oxide.