Enhancing the ferromagnetic coupling in extended phloroglucinol complexes by increasing the metal SOMO-ligand overlap: synthesis and characterization of a trinuclear Co(II)(3) triplesalophen complex.

The triplesalophen complex [(baron(Me))Co(II)(3)] has been synthesized and characterized. The low-spin Co(II) ions possess an (2)A2 ground state with the magnetic orbitals of dyz type. These are well oriented for a strong π overlap with the bridging phloroglucinol, which results in the strongest ferromagnetic interactions by the spin-polarization mechanism for a 3d phloroglucinol complex.