Body-wing swapping in butterfly {Fe2IIILn2III} coordination clusters with triethylene glycol as ligand

The first use of triethylene glycol (H(2)teg) in Fe/Ln chemistry affords two series of tetranuclear {Fe(2)(III)Ln(2)(III)} coordination clusters possessing defect-dicubane cores. A change in the synthetic procedure results in a different arrangement of the relative positions of the 3d and 4f elements offering a means to steer the structural and electronic features within a 3d-4f system.