Constructing CrIII-centered heterometallic complexes: [Ni6IICrIII] and [Co6IICrIII] wheels

The solvothermal reaction between Cr(acac) 3, MCl2 center dot 6H(2)O (M = Ni, Co) and 2-hydroxy-4-methyl-6-phenyl-pyridine-3-amidoxime (H2L), under basic conditions, led to the synthesis of the heterometallic heptanuclear clusters [(M6Cr)-Cr-II(HLzw)(6)(HL)(6)]center dot 3Cl (M = Ni, 1; Co, 2), with the nickel analogue displaying an S = 9/2 spin ground-state.