Monodentate and bridging behaviour of the sulfur‐containing ligand 4′‐[4‐(methylsulfanyl)phenyl]‐4,2′:6′,4′′‐terpyridine in two discrete zinc(II) complexes with acetylacetonate

The Zn complexes bis(acetylacetonato‐κ²O,O′)bis{4′‐[4‐(methylsulfanyl)phenyl]‐4,2′:6′,4′′‐terpyridine‐κN¹}zinc(II), [Zn(C₅H₇O₂)₂(C₂₂H₁₇N₃S)₂], (I), and {μ‐4′‐[4‐(methylsulfanyl)phenyl]‐4,2′:6′,4′′‐terpyridine‐κ²N¹:N^1′′}bis[bis(acetylacetonato‐κ²O,O′)zinc(II)], [Zn₂(C₅H₇O₂)₄(C₂₂H₁₇N₃S)], (II), are discrete entities with different nuclearities. Compound (I) consists of two centrosymmetrically related monodentate 4′‐[4‐(methylsulfanyl)phenyl]‐4,2′:6′,4′′‐terpyridine (L1) ligands binding to one Zn^II atom sitting on an inversion centre and two centrosymmetrically related chelating acetylacetonate (acac) groups which bind via carbonyl O‐atom donors, giving an N₂O₄ octahedral environment for Zn^II. Compound (II), however, consists of a bis‐monodentate L1 ligand bridging two Zn^II atoms from two different Zn(acac)₂ fragments. Intra‐ and intermolecular interactions are weak, mainly of the C—H...π and π–π types, mediating similar layered structures. In contrast to related structures in the literature, sulfur‐mediated nonbonding interactions in (II) do not seem to have any significant influence on the supramolecular structure.