Syntheses and magnetic properties of hexanuclear [Cp 2 Mn 3 (L 1 ) 4 ] 2 and octanuclear [Mn 8 (L 2 ) 12 (μ 4 -O) 2 ] (L 1 = 2-HNC 5 H 5 N, L 2 = 2-NH-3-Br-5-MeC 5 H 3 N, Cp = C 5 H 5 )

The reactions of manganocene, Cp2Mn, with 2-aminopyridine (L1H) or 2-amino-3-bromo-5-methylpyridine (L2H) give the novel hexanuclear and octanuclear Mn(II) amido cage compounds [Cp2Mn3(L1)4]2 (1) and [Mn8(L2)12(mu 4-O)2] (2); magnetic measurements on which provide a rare insight into the magnetic properties of amido-bridged metal clusters.