A copper(II) compound of a tetradentate amine imine ligand with coordinated tetrachlorozincate ion

Reaction of bis(ethane-1,2-diamine) copper( II) chloride with acetone in th e presence of zinc( II) chloride yields mu -chloro-trichloro-2 kappa Cl-3-( 4,6,6-trimethyl-3,7-diazanon-3-ene-1,9-diamine-1 kappa N-4,N',N",N''')coppe r(II)zinc(II). This has copper(II) coordinated by the tetradentate triamine monoimine ligand NH2-(CH2)(2)-N=C(CH3)-CH2- C(CH3)(2)-NH-(CH2)(2)-NH2. The coordination geometry is pyramidally distorted square planar, with trans N -Cu-N angles of 167.5(2) and 178.8(2)degrees, and Cu-N distances for primar y amine 2.001(4) and 2.007(4), secondary amine 2.011(4) and imine 1.988(4) . One chloride ion of the [ZnCl4] 2- ion is weakly coordinated axially (Cu . . . Cl 2.679(1) , Cu . . . Cl-Zn 110.83(6)degrees with supporting N-H . . . Cl hydrogen bonds between the two primary amine groups and two further c hloride ions of the [ZnCl4](2-) ion [C10H24Cl4CuN4Zn, M(r)471.04, orthorhom bic, space group P(n)a2(1), a 11.418(1), b 15.392(2), c 10.723(2) , Z 4, R- 1 = 0.030 for 2039 reflections with I > 2 sigma>(*) over bar *( I)].