Crystal and molecular structure of five-co-ordinate NNN′-tris[2-(2′-pyridyl)ethyl]ethane-1,2-diaminenickel(II) perchlorate–nitromethane

Abstract

The structure of the title compound has been determined from single-crystal three-dimensional X-ray diffractometric data. The structure was solved by Patterson and Fourier methods, and refined by least-squares techniques to R 0.082 for 2704 independent reflections. The nickel atom in the complex cation, surrounded by five nitrogen atoms of the ligand in a square pyramidal arrangement, lies 0.33 Å above the plane of the four basal nitrogen atoms. The Ni–N(apical pyridyl) distance [2.011(6)Å] is significantly shorter than the mean (2.091 Å) for the four Ni–N(basal nitrogen) distances. The nitromethane is present as a molecule of crystallisation. The unit cell is monoclinic with Z= 4, a= 12.840 ± 0.005, b= 13.865 ± 0.005, c= 18.850 ± 0.005 Å, β= 116.76 ± 0.03°, space group P2₁/c.