Multinuclear zinc(II) complexes with Zn-6(mu-O)(6)(mu(3)-O)(2)- and Zn-5(mu-O)(3)(mu(3)-O)(3)-cluster cores

2-Ethoxy-6-(((2-hydroxyphenyl)imino)methyl)phenol, H21, reacts with zinc(II) chloride in basic conditions to give [Zn6(1)4Cl2(OH)2(OH2)2]. The electrospray mass spectrum of a MeOH solution of the bulk sample provides evidence for {Znn(1)n} species with n = 2–5, while the 1H NMR spectrum of a CDCl3 solution of the bulk sample indicates the presence of at least four species. Single crystals of 2{[Zn6(1)4Cl2(OH)2(OH2)(MeOH)]}·4MeOH·8H2O and 2{[Zn5(1)5(MeOH)(OH2)]}·6MeOH·H2O were obtained from the same solution of [Zn6(1)4Cl2(OH)2(OH2)2] in CH2Cl2/MeOH. Structural determinations confirm that these compounds contain {Zn6(μ-O)6(μ3-O)2}- and {Zn5(μ-O)3(μ3-O)3}-cluster cores, respectively, revealing that the O,O′,N,O″-donor set in [1]2− is suited to the assembly of relatively high nuclearity zinc(II)-containing clusters.