Two furo­pyridine complexes of nickel(II) iso­thio­cyanate

Pyridine fused with a furan ring (fupy), and its di­methyl derivative, have been used for the first time as ligands to synthesize potentially new Werner clathrates. The extended aromatic system of pyridine‐like ligands influences considerably the molecular structure of prepared nickel complexes. The molecular structure of tetrakis­(furo­[3,2‐c]­pyridine)­bis(iso­thio­cyanato)­nickel(II) tetra­hydro­furan (THF) solvate, [Ni(NCS)₂(C₇H₅NO)₄]·C₄H₈O or [Ni(NCS)₂(fupy)₄]·THF, (I), reveals a `four‐blade propeller' arrangement of ligands, with the angles between the fupy planes and the basal octahedron plane spanning the range 38.7–55.3°. These angles are much larger (69.9–78.8°) in the centrosymmetric complex tetrakis(2,3‐di­methyl­furo­[3,2‐c]­pyridine)­bis­(iso­thio­cyanato)nickel(II) 6.6‐hydrate, [Ni(NCS)₂(C₉H₉NO)₄]·6.6H₂O or [Ni(NCS)₂(Me₂fupy)₄]·6.6H₂O, (II), in which crystallographically imposed inversion symmetry is present.