X-ray absorption near edge structure as a source of structural information

N-(2-Hydroxyethyl)-β-alaninatonickel(II) was synthesized by the interaction of basic nickel carbonate with N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-β-alanine. The structures of the chelating agent and its nickel complex were studied by single crystal X-ray diffraction. In the synthesized compound, the nickel ion lies at the center of an octahedron of the N and 2O donor atoms of two tridentate ligands, each ligand having a meridional conformation. The ligands around the central atom are arranged in perpendicular planes. This coordination of two ligands yields two stereoisomers, whose cocrystallization affords a racemate.