Bis{2-methoxy-6-[(E)-(4-methylbenzyl)iminomethyl]phenolato}palladium(II) chloroform monosolvate

In the title complex, [Pd(C16H16NO2)2]·CHCl3, the PdII cation lies on an inversion center. One Cl atom of the CHCl3 solvent molecule lies on a twofold axis and the C—H group is disordered with equal occupancies about this axis with the other Cl atom in a general position with full occupancy. The PdII cation is four-coordinate and adopts a square-planar geometry via coordination of the imine N and phenolic O atoms of the two bidentate Schiff base anions. The N and O atoms of these ligands are mutually trans. The plane of the benzene ring makes a dihedral angle of 73.52 (10)° with that of the methoxyphenolate ring. In the crystal, molecules of the PdII complex are arranged into sheets parallel to the ac plane, and the chloroform solvent molecules are located in the interstitial areas between the complex molecules. Weak intermolecular C—H⋯O and C—H⋯π interactions stabilize the packing.

In the title complex, [Pd(C 16 H 16 NO 2 ) 2 ]ÁCHCl 3 , the Pd II cation lies on an inversion center. One Cl atom of the CHCl 3 solvent molecule lies on a twofold axis and the C-H group is disordered with equal occupancies about this axis with the other Cl atom in a general position with full occupancy. The Pd II cation is four-coordinate and adopts a square-planar geometry via coordination of the imine N and phenolic O atoms of the two bidentate Schiff base anions. The N and O atoms of these ligands are mutually trans. The plane of the benzene ring makes a dihedral angle of 73.52 (10) with that of the methoxyphenolate ring. In the crystal, molecules of the Pd II complex are arranged into sheets parallel to the ac plane, and the chloroform solvent molecules are located in the interstitial areas between the complex molecules. Weak intermolecular C-HÁ Á ÁO and C-HÁ Á Á interactions stabilize the packing.
The asymmetric unit of (I) consists of one half each of the complex molecule and the chloroform solvate molecule. The Pd II atom lies on an inversion center while the Cl1 atom of the CHCl 3 solvate lies on a two-fold axis. The C17-H17A group is disordered with equal occupancies about this axis with Cl2 in a general position with full occupancy. These two symmetry elements generate the other halves of the Schiff base ligand and the chloroform molecule. The Pd II ion is fourcoordinate and adopts a square planar geometry via cordination to the two imine N (N1 and N1 i symmetry code; i = 1/2x, 3/2 -y, 1 -z) and two phenolic O (O1 and O1 i symmetry code; i = 1/2 -x, 3/2 -y, 1 -z) atoms of the two bidentate Schiff base anions. The imine N atoms and phenolic O atoms are in mutually trans positions. The Pd-N and Pd-O distances in the N 2 O 2 coordination [1.9741 (10) Å and 2.0204 (12) Å, respectively] are in the same ranges as those observed in the other closely related Pd II complexes of N 2 O 2 Schiff base ligands (Bahron et al., 2011a andHalder et al., 2008). Other bond lengths and angles observed in the structure are also normal (Allen et al., 1987). The bond angles O- . Moreover the coordination of the two NO bidentate chelate ligands to the Pd II ion results in the formation of two sixmembered rings (Pd1/N1/C7/C8/C1/O1 and Pd1/N1 i /C7 i /C8 i /C1 i /O1 i ). The methoxy substituent deviates only slightly from the plane of the ring to which it is bound with the torsion angle C15-O2-C2-C3 = 7.9 (2)°. The benzene ring (C9-C14) makes a dihedral angle of 73.52 (10)° with the methoxyphenolate ring.
In the crystal packing (Fig. 2), molecules of the Pd II complex are arranged into sheets parallel to the ac plane, and the chloroform solvent molecules are located in the interstitial areas between the complex molecules. Weak intermolecular C -H···O interactions stabilise the packing. A C-H···π interaction involving the centroid of the (C9-C14) benzene ring, Cg 1 , is also observed, (Table 1).

Experimental
The ligand, (E)-2-methoxy-6-((4-methylbenzylimino)methyl)-phenol (5 mmol, 1.2765 g) was dissolved in CH 3 CN (10 ml) in a round-bottomed flask. Palladium(II) acetate (2.5 mmol, 0.5612 g) was dissolved separately in CH 3 CN (10 ml) and added to the flask containing the ligand solution. The mixture was refluxed with stirring for 4 h upon which a dark yellow solid was formed. The solid was filtered off, washed with ice-cold CH 3 CN and air dried at room temperature. The

Refinement
All H atoms were positioned geometrically and allowed to ride on their parent atoms, with d(C-H) = 0.93 Å for aromatic, 0.97 Å for CH and CH 2 and 0.96 for CH 3 atoms. The U iso values were constrained to be 1.5U eq of the carrier atom for methyl H atoms and 1.2U eq for the remaining H atoms. A rotating group model was used for the methyl groups.