A new manganese(II) phosphate templated by ethylenediamine, (C
2H
10N
2)[Mn
2(HPO
4)
3(H
2O)], has been prepared by hydrothermal synthesis and characterized by single-crystaldiffraction data and spectroscopic and magnetic techniques. The compound crystallizes inthe monoclinic space group
P2
1/
n with
a = 21.961(7),
b = 9.345(1),
c = 6.639(2) Å;
=91.06(2)
;
V = 13
62.3(6) Å
3; and
Z = 4. The structure consists of anionic sheets of formula[Mn
2(HPO
4)
3]
2-, being the charge compensated by ethylendiammonium cations. The sheetsare constructed by edge-sharing MnO
6 octahedra, MnO
5 trigonal bipyramids, and hydrogenphosphate tetrahedra. Within a layer, the edge-sharing octahedra and the trigonalbipyramids are linked in an alternating way, forming zigzag chains along the [001] direction.The ethylenediammonium cations and the water molecules are located in the interlayer space.The compound has been characterized by IR spectroscopy. A study of the compound byluminescence and diffuse reflectance spectroscopies is carried out. The Dq and Racahparameters have been calculated for Mn(II) ions in octahedral sites. The ESR spectra atdifferent temperatures of the compound show isotropic signals, with a
g value that remainsunchanged with variation in temperature. The intensity and the line width of the ESR signalsincrease continuously from room temperature to 4.2 K. Magnetic measurements from roomtemperature to 1.8 K indicate the presence of antiferromagnetic interactions. A value of
J/
k= -0.75 K for the exchange parameter has been calculated by fitting the experimentalmagnetic data to a triangular lattice antiferromagnet of
S =
5/
2 spins.