Ring opening complexation of nickel(II) and copper(II) by 2-phenyl-2-(2-pyridyl)imidazolidine: Synthesis, spectra and X-ray crystal structures

2-Phenyl-2-(2-pyridyl)imidazolidine undergoes metal induced ring opening with Ni(II) and Cu(II) salts and gives complexes containing the tridentate ligand (L). Crystal structures were obtained for (1), [NiL2][ClO4]2, [CuL(CH3CN)][ClO4]2, [CuL(H2O)][NO3]2 and [CuLN3][ClO4]. DFT calculations at the 6-31G∗ level reproduce the X-ray crystal structure of the nickel dication but are less successful in the case of the aquo copper dication.