A trigonal-bipyramidal oxorhenium(V) complex with a bidentate nitrogen-donor ligand

The oxorhenium(V) complex [ReO(Hapb)(apb)] (1) (H₂apb =?2-(2-aminophenyl)-1-benzimidazole) was prepared by reaction of trans-[ReO₂(py)₄]Cl with a twofold molar amount of H₂apb. The complex was characterized by spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography. The results show that the rhenium atom lies in a distorted trigonal-bipyramidal environment, with the two imidazole nitrogen atoms in apical positions, and the oxo and two amido nitrogens in the trigonal plane.