Two new soluble iron-oxo complexes:: [Fe2(μ-O)(μ-O2CCF3)2(O2CCF3)2-(C10H8N2)2] and [Fe4(μ3-O)2(μO2CCF3)6(O2CCF3)2(C10H8N2)2]•CF3CO2H

Two new iron - oxo clusters, viz. di-mu-trifluoroacetato-mu-oxobis[( 2,2'-bipyridine-kappa(2) N,N')(trifluoroacetato-kappaO) iron(III)], [Fe2O(CF3CO2)(4)(C10H8N2)(2)], and bis(2,2'-bipyridine) di-mu(3)-oxo-hexa-mu-trifluoroacetato- bis( trifluoroacetato) tetrairon( III) trifluoroacetic acid solvate, [Fe4O2(CF3CO2)(8)(C10H8N2)(2)] .-CF3CO2H, contain dinuclear and tetranuclear Fe-III cores, respectively. The Fe-III atoms are in distorted octahedral environments in both compounds and are linked by oxide and trifluoroacetate ions. The trifluoroacetate ions are either bridging ( bidentate) or coordinated to the Fe-III atoms via one O atom only. The fluorinated peripheries enhance the solubility of these compounds. Formal charges for all the Fe centers were assigned by summing valences of the chemical bonds to the Fe-III atom.