RESUMO
Reaction of 2,2'-bis-p-tBu-calix[4]arene (H8L) with Cu(NO3)2·3H2O and N-methyldiethanolamine (Me-deaH2) in a basic dmf/MeOH mixture affords [CuII16(L)2(Me-dea)4(µ4-NO3)2(µ-OH)4(dmf)3.5(MeOH)0.5(H2O)2](H6L)·16dmf·4H2O (4), following slow evaporation of the mother liquor. The central core of the metallic skeleton describes a tetracapped square prism, [Cu12], in which the four capping metal ions are the CuII ions housed in the calix[4]arene polyphenolic pockets. The [CuII8] square prism is held together "internally" by a combination of hydroxide and nitrate anions, with the N-methyldiethanolamine co-ligands forming dimeric [CuII2] units which edge-cap above and below the upper and lower square faces of the prism. Charge balance is maintained through the presence of one doubly deprotonated H6L2- ligand per [Cu16] cluster. Magnetic susceptibility measurements reveal the predominance of strong antiferromagnetic exchange interactions and an S = 1 ground state, while EPR is consistent with a large zero-field splitting.