[N-(1-Aza-nidyl-2,2,2-trichloro-ethyl-idene)-2,2,2-trichloro-ethanimidamide]-copper(II)

The title compound, [Cu(C(4)H(2)Cl(6)N(3))(2)], was obtained by the reaction of CCl(3)CN with ammonia in presence of CuCl. The Cu(II) atom is located about an inversion centre. The mol-ecule consists of three planar units (one central square CuN(4) and two C(2)N(3) fragments), adopting a staircase-like structure. The six-membered metallocycles have a sofa conformation with the Cu atom out of the plane of the 1,3,5-triaza-penta-dienyl ligands by 0.246 (5) Å. The ipso-C atoms of the CCl(3) substituents are slightly out of the 1,3,5-triaza-penta-dienyl planes by 0.149 (6) and -0.106 (6) Å. The CCl(3) groups of each 1,3,5-triaza-penta-dienyl ligand are practically in the energetic-ally favourable mutually eclipsed conformation. In the crystal, the mol-ecules are packed in stacks along the a axis. The mol-ecules in the stacks are held together by two additional axial Cu⋯Cl inter-actions of 3.354 (2) Å. Taking the axial Cu⋯Cl inter-actions into account, the Cu(II) atom exhibits a distorted [4 + 2]-octa-hedral coordination environment. The stacks are bound to each other by weak inter-molecular attractive Cl⋯Cl [3.505 (2)-3.592 (3) Å] inter-actions.