The crystal and molecular structure of 1,4-diphenyl-3-phenylamino-1,2,4-triazolium tetrakis(isothiocyanato)cobaltate(II), [C20H17N4]2[Co-(NCS)4]: a salt of the conjugate acid of nitron

Abstract

The structure of the conjugate acid of nitron, C₂₀H₁₇N₄⁺, has been determined in the form of its salt with cobalt(II) isothiocyanate. The compound [C₂₀H₁₇N₄]₂[Co(NCS)₄] forms blue monoclinic crystals, a= 23·441, b= 10·557, c= 19·065 Å, β= 106·90°, space group C2/c with Z= 4. The structure was solved by conventional Patterson and Fourier techniques, and was refined anisotropically by the block-diagonal matrix least-squares method to R 0·035, by use of 1402 non-zero reflections collected by counter methods. The compound consists of discrete [C₂₀H₁₇N₄]⁺ and [Co(NCS)₄]^2– ions. The cation has the structure of a 1,4-diphenyl-3-phenylamino-1,2,4-triazolium ion. The anion is a slightly distorted tetrahedron. The structures of the two ions are discussed in terms of their bond distances.