Synthesis and characterization of a neutral rhenium(V) complex containing a tridentate chelate with an imido donor atom

The six-coordinate complex cis-[Re(mps)Cl₂(PPh₃)] (1) (H₃mps?=?N-(2-amino-3-methylphenyl)-salicylideneimine) was prepared the reaction of trans-[ReOCl₃(PPh₃)₂] with a twofold molar excess of H₃mps in benzene. The compound was characterized by spectroscopy and single-crystal X-ray crystallography. Mps coordinates as a tridentate chelate via the doubly deprotonated 2-amino nitrogen (which is present in 1 as an imide), the neutral imino nitrogen and the phenolate oxygen atoms. The imide and phenolate oxygen atoms coordinate trans to each other in a distorted octahedral geometry around the rhenium(V) centre, with the two chlorides in cis positions.