Supramolecular Complexation of Polynuclear Aqua Ions: A Crown Ether Adduct of aμ-Oxo-Bridged Iron(III) Aqua Dimer

Hydrolysis and polymerization of [Fe(OH(2))(6)](3+) in aqueous solution leads, in the early stages, to the oxo-bridged binuclear aqua ion [(H(2)O)(5)Fe(µ-O)Fe(OH(2))(5)](4+), which could be obtained in crystalline form through the use of [18]crown-6. The complex exhibits an almost linear Fe-O-Fe moiety and antiferromagnetic coupling that is consistent with current descriptions of exchange coupling in mono oxo-bridged binuclear Fe(III) complexes.