Challenges in assignment of orbital populations in a high spin manganese(iii) complexElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available. CCDC 1417929-1417932 for (1-4). For ESI and crystallographic data in CIF or other electronic format see DOI: 10.1039/c5dt03914b

Magnetic, structural and computational data of four complex salts with the same mononuclear high spin octahedral Mn( iii ) complex cation are reported. The manifestation of Jahn-Teller-like distortions in the Mn( iii ) cation is dependent on the nature of the charge-balancing anion, with small anions yielding a planar elongation and large anions freezing out a preferential axial elongation along one of the amine-Mn-imine directions within that same plane. Modulation of the lattice by changing the charge balancing anion results in mixing of the orbital symmetry due to vibrational perturbation. Magnetic, structural and computational data of four complex salts with the same mononuclear high spin octahedral Mn( iii ) complex cation are reported.