Synthesis and solid-state structure of magnesium and calcium imidazole complexes

Three octahedral complexes built from N-alkylsubstituted imidazoles and magnesium as well as calcium chloride are reported. The obtained solid-state structures differ significantly from each other, depending on the size of the metal ion and the substituent on the imidazole. A chloro-bridged structure is found in the case of tert-butylimidazole, while for the iso-propylimidazole the calcium ion is coordinated by six imidazoles. For the smaller magnesium cation, we also found a sixfold coordination, but here only three of the iso-propylimidazoles coordinate to the magnesium, the three other positions are taken by water molecules.

Graphical abstractN-substituted alkylimidazoles form complexes with calcium and magnesium cations. Depending on the substituent and the ion size different structures could be observed. We report the structures of [Ca(iprIm)6]Cl2, [(tBuIm)3CaCl(μ2-Cl)2ClCa(tBuIm)3], and [Mg(iprIm)6(H2O)3]Cl2.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide