Iron(III), cobalt(II) and zinc(II) coordination compounds with a carboximidamide ligand: Synthesis, structures and properties

•Fe3+, Co2+, and Zn2+ complexes with the ligand N′-{[1-(pyridin-2-yl)ethylidene]amino}pyridine-2-carboximidamide (pmhpa) have been synthesised and characterized.•[Fe(pmhap)2][FeCl4], [Co2(pmhap)2Cl3]2[CoCl4].4MeOH. and [Zn2(pmhpa)3](NO3)4.2.75MeOH (3) contain the ligand coordinated through the azide bridge.•The Fe3+and Co2+ complexes are paramagnetic between 5 and 300 K. Mössbauer spectroscopic data confirm the presence of octahedral and tetrahedral iron environments. Coordination complexes of iron(III), cobalt(II) and zinc(II) with the ligand N′-{[1-(pyridin-2-yl)ethylidene]amino}pyridine-2-carboximidamide (pmhpa) have been synthesised and were structurally characterized by elemental analysis, mass spectrometry, X-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy. The mononuclear iron(III) complex, [Fe(pmhap)2][FeCl4], (1), adopts the orthorhombic non-centric space group P212121. The iron is present in an octahedral environment in the ion [Fe(pmhap)2]+. The crystallographically-determined formula of the cobalt(II) complex (2) is [Co2(pmhap)2Cl3]2[CoCl4].4MeOH. The compound crystallizes in the non-centric space group P4̄21c with a single cobalt ion in the asymmetric unit. The complex is dinuclear, with two cobalt ions bridged by chloride and the two nitrogen atoms of N=N of the pmhap ligand. The zinc(II) complex; [Zn2(pmhpa)3](NO3)4.2.75MeOH (3) crystallizes in the cubic space group Pa3̄ with disordered methanol molecules present. This is dinuclear with the two zinc atoms being bridged by three N=N links from the ligand to form a threefold symmetric rotor. Infrared spectroscopy confirms that coordination occurs through the azide bridge. Measurements of magnetic susceptibility for the iron(III) and cobalt(II) complexes show that they are paramagnetic between 5 and 300 K. Mössbauer spectroscopic data supports the structure of the iron(III) complex being composed of an octahedral and a tetrahedral iron atom.