Double azido/cyanato bridged copper(II) dimers incorporating tridentate nitrogen donors Schiff base: Structure, EPR and magnetic studies

Reaction of Cu(ClO4)2·6H2O with a tridentate neutral nitrogen donor Schiff base L (L = (E)-N-(phenyl(pyridin-2-yl)methylene)-2-(pyridin-2-yl)ethanamine) in presence of NaN3/NaNCO leads to double μ1,1-azido/cyanato bridged dinuclear copper(II) complexes [Cu(L)(μ1,1-N3)(ClO4)]2 (1) and [Cu(L)(μ1,1-NCO)(ClO4)]2 (2), respectively. Azido complex shows antiferromagnetic behavior while the other belongs to a special kind of cyanato bridged complex exhibiting ferromagnetic interactions. The observed magnetism is well supported by the EPR studies and interpreted in terms of metal-ligand-metal bonding parameters.