The cyclocondensation of 2,6-diformylpyridine with N,N,N´,N´-tetrakis(2-aminoethyl)ethane-1,2-diamine (penten) in the presence of MnII forms the [1+1] pendant arm Schiff-base macrocyclic complex, [MnL3]2+. The ligand is a 15-membered pentaaza macrocycle having two 2-aminoethyl pendant arms {L3 = 6,9-bis(aminoethyl)-3,6,9,12,18-pentaazabicyclo[12.3.1]octadeca-1(18), 2, 12, 14, 16-pentaene}. The complex, investigated by analytical, spectroscopic and magnetic techniques, supports the formation of a highly symmetrical pentagonal bipyramid complex with the MnII ion located within a pentaaza macrocycle and two pendant amines coordinating on opposite sides of a plane defined by the macrocycle and the metal ion. The structure of the complex was also verified by ab initio HF-MO calculations using a standard 3-21G* basis set.
