Unusual penta- and hexanuclear Ni(ii)-based silsesquioxane polynuclear complexes

Fine-tuning of the reaction between alkali metal siloxanolate [PhSi(O)ONa]n and [Ni(NH3)6]Cl2 allowed us to design new hexa- [(PhSiO1,5)12(NiO)6(H2O)(DMSO)9] (1) and pentanuclear [(PhSiO1,5)10(NiO)5(NaOH)(DMF)7] (2) cage-like silsesquioxanes. Their specific structures were studied by single crystal X-ray diffraction and topological analyses. Compound 2 is the first example of a pentanuclear "cylinder"-like metallasilsesquioxane. Magnetic property investigations demonstrate the presence of a slow relaxation of the magnetization, induced by spin glass-like behavior in both cases. © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2016.