An oxo-centred trinuclear Fe-III complex: triaquahexakis(mu(2)-betaine-O :O ' )-mu(3)-oxo-triiron(III) bis(tetrachloromanganate) trichloride hexahydrate

The title compound, [Fe-3 (C5H11NO2)(6)O(H2O)(3)](MnCl4)(2)Cl-3. 6H(2)O, co ntains a triiron core linked by a mu (3)-bridging oxide ion. Each of the ir on(III) ions has a distorted octahedral environment, being coordinated, in addition to the oxide ion, by four neutral betaine molecules and one water molecule. The N-alkylated alpha -amino acid betaine is present in the dipol ar zwitterionic form and chelates pairs of Fe atoms at the vertices of the triangular [Fe3O](7+) ionic core. The Fe complex has a crystallographically imposed D3 symmetry. The water molecules fully exhaust their potential as hydrogen donors, forming a two-dimensional hydrogen-bond network in planes parallel to (001).