Hexanuclear copper(II) complex of 2-hydroxy-N,N′-bis[1-(2-hydroxyphenyl)ethylidene]propane-1,3-diamine incorporating an open-cubane core

The title molecular structure, namely, diaquatris(mu(3)-1,3-bis{[1-(2-oxidophenyl)ethylidene]aminolpropan-2-olato)-mu(3)-hydroxido-dinitratohexacopper(II) ethanol trisolvate, [Cu-6(C19H19N2O3)(3)(NO3)(2)(OH)(H2O)(2)]center dot 3C(2)H(5)OH, corresponds to a non-symmetric hexanuclear copper complex. The complex exhibits one core in which three Cu-II metal centres are mutually interconnected, two by two, via three phenolato oxygen anions acting in a mu(2)-mode. These three copper cations are interconnected in a mu(3)-mode by one hydroxyl group. An open-cube structure is generated in which each of the Cu-II cations of the three CuO4N units is connected by two mu(2)-O anions from phenolate groups and one mu(3)-O atom from a hydroxy anion. Each of the three pentacoordinated Cu-II cations situated in the open-cube unit has a distorted NO4 square-pyramidal environment. Each of these three Cu-II centres is interconnected with another Cu-II cation via one enolate O atom in mu(2)-mode, yielding one CuNO4 unit and two CuNO3 units. The pentacoordinated Cu-II atom has a distorted square-pyramidal environment while the two tetracoordinated copper(II) cations are situated in a squareplanar environment. A series of intramolecular O-H center dot center dot center dot O hydrogen bonds are observed. In the crystal, the units are connected two by two by intermolecular C-H center dot center dot center dot O and O-H center dot center dot center dot O hydrogen bonds, thus forming sheets parallel to the ac plane.

Automated summary

The hexanuclear copper complex has a non-symmetric structure with diverse coordination environments for Cu-II metal centers, interconnected by phenolato oxygen anions in different modes.