Structural studies of copper(II) complexes derived from di-2-pyridyl-ketone, (py)2CO.

Reaction of ArSNᆖC(py)2 [Ar = 2,4-dinitrophenyl, (O2N)2C6H3] with CuCl2·2H2O in DMF yielded the tetranuclear complex [Me2NH2][Cu4Cl6{py2CO2}{py2C(OH)O}] (1) through metal-catalysed hydrolysis of both DMF and the thiazyl chain. Notably direct reaction of dipyridylketone (py2CO) with CuCl2·2H2O in DMF yielded the mononuclear pseudo-octahedral complex [CuCl2(py2C(OH)2)(DMF)]·DMF (2) in which the 1,1-gem diol, py2C(OH)2 acts as a tripodal ligand. Heating of 2 in DMF/MeOH promoted aggregation and formation of the polymer [Cu2Cl3{py2(OMe)O}]∞ (3). The structures of 1–3 were determined by X-ray diffraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]