Crystal structure of poly[hexa-µ-bro-mido-bis{2-[1-(py-ri-din-2-yl)ethyl-idene-amino]ethanol-ato}tetracopper(II)].

The reaction of the Schiff base 2-[1-(pyridin-2-yl)ethyl-idene-amino]-ethanol (HL), which is formed by reaction of 2-amino-ethanol and 2-acetyl-pyridine with CuBr2 in ethanol results in the isolation of the new polymeric complex poly[hexa-µ-bromido-bis-{2-[1-(pyridin-2-yl)ethyl-idene-amino]-ethano-lato}tetra-copper(II)], [Cu4Br6(C9H11N2O)2]n or [Cu4Br6 L 2]n. The asymmetric unit of the crystal structure of the polymeric [Cu4Br6 L 2]n complex is composed by four copper (II) cations, two monodeprotonated mol-ecules of the ligand, and six bromide anions, which act as bridges. The ligand mol-ecules act in a tridentate fashion through their azomethine nitro-gen atoms, their pyridine nitro-gen 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 tetra-hedral geometry. Bromides anions acting as bridges between two metal ions connect the units, resulting in a tetra-nuclear polymer compound.

Synthesis and crystal structures of two related Co and Mn complexes: a celebration of collaboration between the universities of Dakar and Southampton.

We report the synthesis and structures of two transition-metal complexes involving 2-(2-hy-droxy-phen-yl)benzimidazole (2hpbi - a ligand of inter-est for its photoluminescent applications), with cobalt, namely, bis-[µ-2-(1H-1,3-benzo-diazol-2-yl)phenolato]bis-[ethanol(thio-cyanato)-cobalt(II)], [Co2(C13H9N2O)2(NCS)2(C2H6O)2], (1), and manganese, namely, bis-[µ-2-(1H-1,3-benzo-diazol-2-yl)phenolato]bis-{[2-(1H-1,3-benzo-diazol-2-yl)phenolato](thio-cyanato)-mang-an-ese(III)} dihydrate, [Mn2(C13H9N2O)4(NCS)2]·2H2O, (2). These structures are two recent examples of a fruitful collaboration between researchers at the Laboratoire de Chimie de Coordination Organique/Organic Coordination Chemistry Laboratory (LCCO), University of Dakar, Senegal and the National Crystallography Service (NCS), School of Chemistry, University Southampton, UK. This productive partnership was forged through meeting at Pan-African Conferences on Crystallography and quickly grew as the plans for the AfCA (African Crystallographic Association) developed. This article therefore also showcases this productive partnership, in celebration of the IUCr's 75 year anniversary and the recent inclusion of AfCA as a Regional Associate of the IUCr.