Abstract

The three title compounds, namely 4-phenyl-1H-imidazolium hexa-μ2-chloro-chloro-μ4-oxo-tris(4-phenyl-1H- imidazole-κN1)tetracopper(II) monohydrate, (C 9Hg9N2)[Cu4Cl7O(C 9H8N2)3]·H2O, hexa-μ2-chloro-μ4-oxo-tetrakis(pyridine N-oxide-κO)tetracopper(II), [Cu4Cl6O(C 5H5NO)4], and hexa-μ2-chloro-tetrakis(2- methyl-1H-imidazole-κN1)-μ4-oxo-tetracopper(II) methanol trisolvate, [Cu4Cl6O(C4H 6N2)4]·3CH4O, exhibit the same Cu4OCl6 framework, where the O atom at the centre of an almost regular tetrahedron bridges four copper cations at the corners. This group is in turn surrounded by a Cl6 octahedron, leading to a rather globular species. This special arrangement of the CuII cations results in a diversity of magnetic behaviours. © 2006 International Union of Crystallography.