Chirality at octahedral centres determined by tetradentate Schiff base ligands

1,2-bis(2′-aminophenoxy)-4-methylbenzene provides a Schiff base by reaction with 2-pyridinecarboxaldehyde. The stereochemical rigidity of ortho-aminophenyl diamines causes this latter, as well as the corresponding nitro precursors, be chiral. The chiral conformation of the diamine precursor is maintained in the octahedral zinc(II) and cobalt(II) complexes prepared from the Schiff base. The crystal structures of [ZnL(NO3)(H2O)]NO3 and CoLCl2 complexes exhibit non-planar cis-α configurations with both enantiomers (Δ and Λ). This implies that in the Schiff base ligand the two α-diimine systems shape an octahedral cavity having the same chirality of the precursory diamine.