Assembling of copper(II) dipicolinate complexes

The role of ancillary ligands, namely imidazole (im), pyridine (py), 2,2′-bipyridine (bpy) and 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) in the assembly of copper(II) dipicolinate complexes are presented. Mononuclear complexes are observed in the case of monodentate ligands. The mononuclear complex Cu(im)₃L]·4H₂O (1) (L = dipicolinate anion) has a distorted octahedral structure with Z′ = 2, whereas CuL(py)(H₂O)]·2H₂O (2) adopts distorted square pyramidal geometry. The bidentate ligands bpy and phen favor the formation of dinuclear complexes. The dinuclear complex CuL(bpy)(μ-L)Cu(bpy)(H₂O)]·9H₂O (3) has one carbonyl oxygen atom of a carboxylate group of dipicolinate acting as a bridging ligand to the copper site that is devoid of a coordinated water molecule. The complex has an angle of 83.55° between the plane of L and bpy attached to one copper site, whereas it has an angle of 78.13° between the plane L and bpy attached to the other copper site. A 1,10-phenanthroline containing dinuclear copper(II) dipicolinate complex, Cu(phen)(H₂O)(μ-L)Cu(phen)₂]CuL₂]·12H₂O (4), has been structurally characterized. It has an unusual carboxylate bridge.