Crystal and molecular structures of bisbenzoatobis(2-methylpyridine)nickel(II) and bisbenzoatobis(quinoline)nickel(II)

Abstract

The crystal and molecular structures of the title compounds have been determined from single-crystal X-ray data measured on a manual diffractometer. The 2-methylpyridine complex (I) is monoclinic, space group P2₁/a, with a= 16.70(3), b= 14.42(2), c= 11.39(2)Å, β= 120.36(2)°, and Z= 4; the quinoline complex (II) is also monoclinic, space group P2₁/a with a= 14.06(2), b= 9.75(2), c= 10.36(2)Å, β= 113.3(2)°, and Z= 2. Structures were solved by the heavy-atom method and least-squares refinement has reached R 0.057 for (I)(1 558 significant reflections) and 0.047 for (II)(1 210 reflections). Both complexes are monomeric with distorted octahedral co-ordination geometries but compound (I) has a cis-configuration whilst (II) has a centrosymmetric trans-configuration. The Ni–O and Ni–N distances in the two complexes fall in the narrow ranges 2.083–2.127 and 2.072–2.087 Å. The adoption of the two different structures is suggested to be due to solid-state packing effects.