Transition metal complexes of the small cyano anion dicyanonitromethanide [C(CN)2(NO2)]−

Conventional bench top and solvothermal synthesis are determined to be reliable methods in the synthesis of coordination compounds containing the dicyanonitromethanide (dcnom) anion. From conventional bench top synthesis, [Ni(phen)3](dcnom)2 (1a), [Cu(phen)3](dcnom)2 (1b), [Cu(en)3](dcnom)2 (4), [Cu3(Hpz)3(H2O)(OH)(pz)3]Cl(dcnom)·H2O (7) and [Ag(Hpz)2(dcnom)] (8) (where phen = 1,10-phenanthroline, en = 1,2-ethylenediamine, Hpz = pyrazole and pz = pyrazolate) are obtained. With solvothermal synthesis, [Ni(phen)2(H2O)(dcnom)](dcnom) (2), [Cu(phen)2(dcnom)](dcnom) (3), [Cu(en)2(dcnom)2] (5) and [Cu(pn)2(dcnom)2] (6) (where pn = 1,3-propylenediamine) are formed. Both nitro κ1(O) and nitrile κ1(N) coordination modes are observed for the dcnom anion.

Graphical abstractWe report the first examples of first row transition metal complexes of the small cyano anion dicyanonitromethanide (dcnom). The dcnom ligand was observed to adopt two different coordination modes, κ1(N) and κ1(O), with extra sites available for hydrogen-bonded assemblies.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide