Crystal structure of poly[hexa-μ-bromido-bis{2-[1-(pyridin-2-yl)ethylideneamino]ethanolato}tetracopper(II)]

The reaction of the Schiff base 2-[1-(pyridin-2-yl)ethylideneamino]ethanol (HL), which is formed by reaction of 2-aminoethanol and 2-acetylpyridine with CuBr2 in ethanol results in the isolation of the new polymeric complex poly[hexa-μ-bromido-bis{2-[1-(pyridin-2-yl)ethylideneamino]ethanolato}tetracopper(II)], [Cu4Br6(C9H11N2O)2]n or [Cu4Br6L2]n. The asymmetric unit of the crystal structure of the polymeric [Cu4Br6L2]n complex is composed by four copper (II) cations, two monodeprotonated molecules of the ligand, and six bromide anions, which act as bridges. The ligand molecules act in a tridentate fashion through their azomethine nitrogen atoms, their pyridine nitrogen atoms, and their alcoholate O atoms. The crystal structure shows two types of geometries in the coordination polyhedrons around Cu2+ ions. Two copper cations are situated in a square-based pyramidal environment, while the two other copper cations adopt a tetrahedral geometry. Bromides anions acting as bridges between two metal ions connect the units, resulting in a tetranuclear polymer compound.