Dicopper(II) complexes with the enantiomers of a bidentate chiral reduced Schiff base: Inclusion of chlorinated solvents and chiral recognition of 1,2-dichloroethane rotamers in the crystal lattice

Abstract

Bisphenoxo-bridged dicopper(II) complexes [Cu2Ln2Cl2] {1 (n = 1) and 2 (n = 2)} with the N,O-donor reduced Schiff bases N-(2-hydroxybenzyl)-(R)-α-methylbenzylamine (HL1) and N-(2-hydroxybenzyl)-(S)-α-methylbenzylamine (HL2) have been synthesised and characterised. In both 1 and 2, the bidentate chiral ligands coordinate the metal centres through the secondary amine N atom and the bridging phenolate O atom. The chloride ion occupies the fourth coordination site and completes a slightly distorted square-planar NO2Cl environment around each copper(II) centre. Magnetic susceptibility measurements in the solid state suggest a strong anti-ferromagnetic interaction between the metal centres in both complexes. Both 1 and 2 readily form 1:1 host-guest compounds with chlorinated solvents such as CH2Cl2, CHCl3 and Cl(CH2)2Cl. All the host-guest compounds crystallise in noncentrosymmetric space groups. 1·CH 2Cl2 and 2·CH2Cl2 crystallise in the P21 space group while 1·CHCl3, 2·CHCl3, 1·Cl(CH2)2Cl and 2·Cl(CH2)2Cl crystallise in the P2 12121 space group. In these inclusion crystals, the C-H⋯Cl interactions between the guest and the host molecules are primarily responsible for enclatheration of the chloroalkane molecules. In the case of CH2Cl2, one of its Cl atoms acts as the acceptor. On the other hand, for CHCl3 and Cl(CH2)2Cl, the metal coordinated Cl atom of the host complex acts as the acceptor. The structures of 1·(P)-Cl(CH2)2Cl and 2·(M)-Cl(CH2)2Cl provide rare examples for chiral recognition of the right handed (P) and the left handed (M) gauche forms of Cl(CH2)2Cl in molecular assemblies. © Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 2006.