A novel amido–pyrophosphate MnII chelate complex with the synthetic ligand O{P(O)[NHC(CH3)3]2}2 (L): [Mn(L)2{OC(H)N(CH3)2}2]Cl2·2H2O

The title complex, trans‐bis(dimethylformamide‐κO)bis{N,N′‐N′′,N′′′‐tetra‐tert‐butyloxybis(phosphonic diamide‐κO)]}manganese(II) dichloride dihydrate, Mn(C₁₆H₄₀N₄O₃P₂)₂(C₃H₇NO)₂]Cl₂·2H₂O, is the first example of a bis‐chelate amido–pyrophosphate (pyrophosphoramide) complex containing an OP(O)(NH)₂]₂ fragment. Its asymmetric unit contains half of the complex dication, one chloride anion and one water molecule. The Mn^II atom, located on an inversion centre, is octahedrally coordinated, with a slight elongation towards the monodentate dimethylformamide ligand. Structural features of the title complex, such as the P=O bond lengths and the planarity of the chelate ring, are compared with those of previously reported complexes with six‐membered chelates involving the fragments C(O)NHP(O), (X)NP(O) X = C(O), C(S), S(O)₂ and P(O)] and OP(O)(N)₂]₂. This analysis shows that the six‐membered chelate rings are less puckered in pyrophosphoramide complexes containing a P(O)OP(O) skeleton, such as the title compound. The extended structure of the title complex involves a linear aggregate mediated by N—H...O and N—H...Cl hydrogen bonds, in which the chloride anion is an acceptor in two additional O—H...Cl hydrogen bonds.