metal-organic compounds
Bis[μ-2-(benzyliminomethyl)-4-chlorophenolato]bis[chloridocopper(II)]
aDepartment of Chemistry, Baoji University of Arts and Science, Baoji, Shaanxi 721007, People's Republic of China
*Correspondence e-mail: mingtian8001@163.com
The title complex, [Cu2(C14H11ClNO)2Cl2], has a centrosymmetric dinuclear structure where two symmetry-related copper(II) metal centres are bridged by the O atoms of two phenoxy groups. Each copper(II) centre displays a distorted tetrahedral coordination provided by one N atom and two O atoms from two Schiff base ligands and by one Cl atom. The Cu⋯Cu separation is 3.0702 (9) Å.
Related literature
For related literature, see: Bencini & Mani (1988); Jiang et al. (2004); Liu & Su (1996).
Experimental
Crystal data
|
Refinement
|
|
Data collection: SMART (Siemens, 1996); cell SAINT (Siemens, 1996); data reduction: SAINT; program(s) used to solve structure: SHELXS97 (Sheldrick, 1997a); program(s) used to refine structure: SHELXL97 (Sheldrick, 1997a); molecular graphics: SHELXTL (Sheldrick, 1997b); software used to prepare material for publication: SHELXTL.
Supporting information
https://doi.org/10.1107/S1600536807061764/rz2176sup1.cif
contains datablocks I, global. DOI:Structure factors: contains datablock I. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1107/S1600536807061764/rz2176Isup2.hkl
5-Chlorosalicylaldehyde (0.1 mmol, 15.7 mg), CuCl2.2H2O (0.1 mmol, 17.05 mg) and benzylamine (0.1 mmol, 10.7 mg) were dissolved in methanol (10 ml). The mixture was stirred for 30 min at room temperature to give a clear brown solution. After allowing the resulting solution to stand in air for 11 d, brown block-shaped crystals of the title compound were formed on slow evaporation of the solvent. The crystals were collected, washed with methanol and dried in a vacuum desiccator using anhydrous CaCl2 (yield 54%). Analysis found: C 48.88%, H 3.20%, N 4.07%; calculated for (Cu2C28H22N2O2Cl4): C48.9%, H 3.20%, N 4.08%.
All H atoms were placed in geometrically idealized positions and constrained to ride on their parent atoms with C—H distances in the range 0.93–0.97 Å and Uiso(H) = 1.2 Ueq(C).
During the past two decades, considerable attention has been paid to the chemistry of
and complexes with metal ions due to their chelating ability and their potentially beneficial chemical and biological activities. Dinuclear copper(II) units exist on active sites of many metalloenzymes and metalloproteins such as, for example, hemocyanin, tyrosinase and cytochrome oxidase. Schiff base complexes containing salicylaldehyde and amine derivatives have been also often reported. The complexes of salicylaldehyde with polyamines and bis(phenoxy)-bridged dinuclear copper(II) complexes are sparse. As an extension of our work on the structural characterization of Schiff base complexes, the of a new dinuclear copper(II) compound is reported here.The molecular structure of the title complex consists of two centrosymmetrically related [CuL]2+ units [where L is 4-chloro-2-(benzylaminethyl)-phenolato], which are bridged by the oxygen atoms of two phenoxy groups in such a way as to define an NCuO2CuN core. A chloride anion completes the coordination around each Cu atom (Fig. 1), thus defining a distorted tetrahedral geometry for the metal centres, with angles subtended at the copper(II) atoms in the range 93.43 (8)–149.90 (6)° (Table 1). The Cu—N, Cu—O, Cu—Cl bond lengths of 1.953 (2), 1.9334 (16) and 2.1934 (8) Å respectively (Table 1) are comparable with those reported previously (Bencini & Mani, 1988; Jiang et al., 2004; Liu & Su, 1996). The Cu···Cu separation within the dimer is 3.0702 (9) Å. The crystal packing (Fig. 2) is governed only by van der Waals interactions.
For related literature, see: Bencini & Mani (1988); Jiang et al. (2004); Liu & Su (1996).
Data collection: SMART (Siemens, 1996); cell
SAINT (Siemens, 1996); data reduction: SAINT (Siemens, 1996); program(s) used to solve structure: SHELXS97 (Sheldrick, 1997a); program(s) used to refine structure: SHELXL97 (Sheldrick, 1997a); molecular graphics: SHELXTL (Sheldrick, 1997b); software used to prepare material for publication: SHELXTL (Sheldrick, 1997b).[Cu2(C14H11ClNO)2Cl2] | F(000) = 1384 |
Mr = 687.36 | Dx = 1.706 Mg m−3 |
Monoclinic, C2/c | Mo Kα radiation, λ = 0.71073 Å |
Hall symbol: -C 2yc | Cell parameters from 3416 reflections |
a = 22.572 (3) Å | θ = 2.4–27.9° |
b = 9.3964 (13) Å | µ = 2.02 mm−1 |
c = 16.649 (2) Å | T = 298 K |
β = 130.724 (2)° | Block, brown |
V = 2676.2 (6) Å3 | 0.55 × 0.43 × 0.30 mm |
Z = 4 |
Siemens SMART CCD area-detector diffractometer | 2364 independent reflections |
Radiation source: fine-focus sealed tube | 1910 reflections with I > 2σ(I) |
Graphite monochromator | Rint = 0.027 |
φ and ω scans | θmax = 25.0°, θmin = 2.4° |
Absorption correction: multi-scan (SADABS; Sheldrick, 1996) | h = −26→25 |
Tmin = 0.379, Tmax = 0.548 | k = −11→11 |
6545 measured reflections | l = −12→19 |
Refinement on F2 | Primary atom site location: structure-invariant direct methods |
Least-squares matrix: full | Secondary atom site location: difference Fourier map |
R[F2 > 2σ(F2)] = 0.026 | Hydrogen site location: inferred from neighbouring sites |
wR(F2) = 0.071 | H-atom parameters constrained |
S = 1.04 | w = 1/[σ2(Fo2) + (0.0314P)2 + 2.8567P] where P = (Fo2 + 2Fc2)/3 |
2364 reflections | (Δ/σ)max = 0.001 |
172 parameters | Δρmax = 0.28 e Å−3 |
0 restraints | Δρmin = −0.35 e Å−3 |
[Cu2(C14H11ClNO)2Cl2] | V = 2676.2 (6) Å3 |
Mr = 687.36 | Z = 4 |
Monoclinic, C2/c | Mo Kα radiation |
a = 22.572 (3) Å | µ = 2.02 mm−1 |
b = 9.3964 (13) Å | T = 298 K |
c = 16.649 (2) Å | 0.55 × 0.43 × 0.30 mm |
β = 130.724 (2)° |
Siemens SMART CCD area-detector diffractometer | 2364 independent reflections |
Absorption correction: multi-scan (SADABS; Sheldrick, 1996) | 1910 reflections with I > 2σ(I) |
Tmin = 0.379, Tmax = 0.548 | Rint = 0.027 |
6545 measured reflections |
R[F2 > 2σ(F2)] = 0.026 | 0 restraints |
wR(F2) = 0.071 | H-atom parameters constrained |
S = 1.04 | Δρmax = 0.28 e Å−3 |
2364 reflections | Δρmin = −0.35 e Å−3 |
172 parameters |
Geometry. All e.s.d.'s (except the e.s.d. in the dihedral angle between two l.s. planes) are estimated using the full covariance matrix. The cell e.s.d.'s are taken into account individually in the estimation of e.s.d.'s in distances, angles and torsion angles; correlations between e.s.d.'s in cell parameters are only used when they are defined by crystal symmetry. An approximate (isotropic) treatment of cell e.s.d.'s is used for estimating e.s.d.'s involving l.s. planes. |
Refinement. Refinement of F2 against ALL reflections. The weighted R-factor wR and goodness of fit S are based on F2, conventional R-factors R are based on F, with F set to zero for negative F2. The threshold expression of F2 > σ(F2) is used only for calculating R-factors(gt) etc. and is not relevant to the choice of reflections for refinement. R-factors based on F2 are statistically about twice as large as those based on F, and R- factors based on ALL data will be even larger. |
x | y | z | Uiso*/Ueq | ||
Cu1 | 0.219816 (18) | 0.74677 (3) | 0.06012 (3) | 0.03095 (12) | |
Cl1 | 0.39728 (5) | 0.05623 (8) | 0.19873 (7) | 0.0525 (2) | |
Cl2 | 0.21728 (4) | 0.90619 (8) | 0.15408 (6) | 0.0452 (2) | |
N1 | 0.17933 (12) | 0.5810 (2) | 0.08161 (17) | 0.0312 (5) | |
O1 | 0.27824 (11) | 0.63270 (18) | 0.03605 (15) | 0.0349 (4) | |
C1 | 0.20487 (14) | 0.4550 (3) | 0.09374 (19) | 0.0300 (6) | |
H1 | 0.1797 | 0.3831 | 0.0998 | 0.036* | |
C2 | 0.26936 (14) | 0.4117 (3) | 0.09912 (19) | 0.0277 (5) | |
C3 | 0.30487 (14) | 0.5008 (3) | 0.0735 (2) | 0.0287 (6) | |
C4 | 0.37020 (15) | 0.4504 (3) | 0.0898 (2) | 0.0350 (6) | |
H4 | 0.3950 | 0.5090 | 0.0747 | 0.042* | |
C5 | 0.39847 (15) | 0.3151 (3) | 0.1281 (2) | 0.0374 (6) | |
H5 | 0.4422 | 0.2829 | 0.1390 | 0.045* | |
C6 | 0.36163 (16) | 0.2276 (3) | 0.1502 (2) | 0.0345 (6) | |
C7 | 0.29761 (15) | 0.2734 (3) | 0.1358 (2) | 0.0303 (6) | |
H7 | 0.2731 | 0.2128 | 0.1503 | 0.036* | |
C8 | 0.11883 (16) | 0.6011 (3) | 0.0906 (2) | 0.0401 (7) | |
H8A | 0.1424 | 0.6477 | 0.1575 | 0.048* | |
H8B | 0.1005 | 0.5084 | 0.0918 | 0.048* | |
C9 | 0.04988 (15) | 0.6876 (3) | 0.0021 (2) | 0.0327 (6) | |
C10 | 0.02317 (17) | 0.6889 (3) | −0.0990 (2) | 0.0433 (7) | |
H10 | 0.0490 | 0.6354 | −0.1150 | 0.052* | |
C11 | −0.04162 (19) | 0.7684 (3) | −0.1780 (3) | 0.0541 (9) | |
H11 | −0.0583 | 0.7693 | −0.2459 | 0.065* | |
C12 | −0.08114 (18) | 0.8456 (3) | −0.1565 (3) | 0.0550 (8) | |
H12 | −0.1249 | 0.8988 | −0.2094 | 0.066* | |
C13 | −0.0555 (2) | 0.8436 (4) | −0.0561 (3) | 0.0708 (11) | |
H13 | −0.0824 | 0.8948 | −0.0409 | 0.085* | |
C14 | 0.0098 (2) | 0.7667 (4) | 0.0228 (3) | 0.0599 (10) | |
H14 | 0.0271 | 0.7681 | 0.0910 | 0.072* |
U11 | U22 | U33 | U12 | U13 | U23 | |
Cu1 | 0.0324 (2) | 0.0343 (2) | 0.0364 (2) | 0.00520 (14) | 0.02696 (18) | 0.00292 (15) |
Cl1 | 0.0578 (5) | 0.0436 (4) | 0.0659 (5) | 0.0233 (4) | 0.0447 (5) | 0.0165 (4) |
Cl2 | 0.0497 (4) | 0.0505 (4) | 0.0440 (4) | 0.0045 (4) | 0.0343 (4) | −0.0057 (4) |
N1 | 0.0265 (11) | 0.0389 (13) | 0.0367 (13) | 0.0068 (10) | 0.0243 (11) | 0.0070 (10) |
O1 | 0.0424 (11) | 0.0340 (10) | 0.0467 (11) | 0.0088 (9) | 0.0371 (10) | 0.0076 (9) |
C1 | 0.0253 (13) | 0.0392 (15) | 0.0290 (14) | 0.0019 (12) | 0.0192 (13) | 0.0055 (12) |
C2 | 0.0226 (13) | 0.0338 (14) | 0.0243 (13) | 0.0034 (11) | 0.0142 (12) | 0.0009 (11) |
C3 | 0.0279 (14) | 0.0315 (14) | 0.0261 (14) | 0.0026 (11) | 0.0174 (12) | 0.0002 (11) |
C4 | 0.0305 (14) | 0.0419 (16) | 0.0402 (16) | 0.0016 (12) | 0.0264 (14) | 0.0000 (13) |
C5 | 0.0297 (14) | 0.0448 (16) | 0.0422 (17) | 0.0096 (13) | 0.0255 (14) | 0.0030 (14) |
C6 | 0.0326 (15) | 0.0370 (15) | 0.0294 (14) | 0.0096 (12) | 0.0182 (13) | 0.0036 (12) |
C7 | 0.0283 (14) | 0.0358 (15) | 0.0268 (14) | 0.0014 (11) | 0.0179 (13) | 0.0011 (11) |
C8 | 0.0368 (16) | 0.0508 (17) | 0.0495 (18) | 0.0126 (13) | 0.0356 (16) | 0.0127 (15) |
C9 | 0.0264 (14) | 0.0370 (15) | 0.0395 (16) | 0.0010 (12) | 0.0236 (13) | 0.0011 (13) |
C10 | 0.0376 (17) | 0.0505 (18) | 0.0401 (17) | 0.0081 (14) | 0.0246 (16) | −0.0061 (14) |
C11 | 0.0461 (19) | 0.069 (2) | 0.0340 (17) | 0.0097 (17) | 0.0205 (17) | −0.0007 (16) |
C12 | 0.0373 (17) | 0.062 (2) | 0.049 (2) | 0.0210 (16) | 0.0207 (17) | 0.0115 (17) |
C13 | 0.065 (2) | 0.094 (3) | 0.067 (2) | 0.047 (2) | 0.049 (2) | 0.020 (2) |
C14 | 0.057 (2) | 0.090 (3) | 0.051 (2) | 0.0372 (19) | 0.0432 (19) | 0.0196 (18) |
Cu1—O1 | 1.9334 (16) | C5—H5 | 0.9300 |
Cu1—N1 | 1.953 (2) | C6—C7 | 1.371 (4) |
Cu1—O1i | 1.9850 (17) | C7—H7 | 0.9300 |
Cu1—Cl2 | 2.1934 (8) | C8—C9 | 1.504 (4) |
Cl1—C6 | 1.746 (3) | C8—H8A | 0.9700 |
N1—C1 | 1.274 (3) | C8—H8B | 0.9700 |
N1—C8 | 1.480 (3) | C9—C10 | 1.369 (4) |
O1—C3 | 1.341 (3) | C9—C14 | 1.376 (4) |
O1—Cu1i | 1.9850 (17) | C10—C11 | 1.385 (4) |
C1—C2 | 1.457 (3) | C10—H10 | 0.9300 |
C1—H1 | 0.9300 | C11—C12 | 1.367 (4) |
C2—C7 | 1.401 (3) | C11—H11 | 0.9300 |
C2—C3 | 1.404 (3) | C12—C13 | 1.367 (5) |
C3—C4 | 1.396 (3) | C12—H12 | 0.9300 |
C4—C5 | 1.378 (4) | C13—C14 | 1.376 (5) |
C4—H4 | 0.9300 | C13—H13 | 0.9300 |
C5—C6 | 1.379 (4) | C14—H14 | 0.9300 |
O1—Cu1—N1 | 93.43 (8) | C5—C6—Cl1 | 119.8 (2) |
O1—Cu1—O1i | 76.82 (8) | C6—C7—C2 | 119.7 (2) |
N1—Cu1—O1i | 149.53 (9) | C6—C7—H7 | 120.2 |
O1—Cu1—Cl2 | 149.90 (6) | C2—C7—H7 | 120.2 |
N1—Cu1—Cl2 | 100.42 (6) | N1—C8—C9 | 113.7 (2) |
O1i—Cu1—Cl2 | 102.14 (6) | N1—C8—H8A | 108.8 |
C1—N1—C8 | 117.0 (2) | C9—C8—H8A | 108.8 |
C1—N1—Cu1 | 123.55 (16) | N1—C8—H8B | 108.8 |
C8—N1—Cu1 | 119.34 (17) | C9—C8—H8B | 108.8 |
C3—O1—Cu1 | 125.16 (14) | H8A—C8—H8B | 107.7 |
C3—O1—Cu1i | 131.55 (14) | C10—C9—C14 | 118.0 (3) |
Cu1—O1—Cu1i | 103.18 (8) | C10—C9—C8 | 123.6 (2) |
N1—C1—C2 | 126.9 (2) | C14—C9—C8 | 118.4 (2) |
N1—C1—H1 | 116.6 | C9—C10—C11 | 121.1 (3) |
C2—C1—H1 | 116.6 | C9—C10—H10 | 119.4 |
C7—C2—C3 | 119.8 (2) | C11—C10—H10 | 119.4 |
C7—C2—C1 | 116.0 (2) | C12—C11—C10 | 120.2 (3) |
C3—C2—C1 | 124.1 (2) | C12—C11—H11 | 119.9 |
O1—C3—C4 | 120.0 (2) | C10—C11—H11 | 119.9 |
O1—C3—C2 | 121.4 (2) | C13—C12—C11 | 119.0 (3) |
C4—C3—C2 | 118.6 (2) | C13—C12—H12 | 120.5 |
C5—C4—C3 | 121.0 (2) | C11—C12—H12 | 120.5 |
C5—C4—H4 | 119.5 | C12—C13—C14 | 120.6 (3) |
C3—C4—H4 | 119.5 | C12—C13—H13 | 119.7 |
C4—C5—C6 | 119.7 (2) | C14—C13—H13 | 119.7 |
C4—C5—H5 | 120.2 | C13—C14—C9 | 121.0 (3) |
C6—C5—H5 | 120.2 | C13—C14—H14 | 119.5 |
C7—C6—C5 | 121.1 (2) | C9—C14—H14 | 119.5 |
C7—C6—Cl1 | 119.0 (2) | ||
O1—Cu1—N1—C1 | 11.7 (2) | C1—C2—C3—C4 | 175.0 (2) |
O1i—Cu1—N1—C1 | 81.3 (3) | O1—C3—C4—C5 | −179.9 (2) |
Cl2—Cu1—N1—C1 | −141.5 (2) | C2—C3—C4—C5 | 1.4 (4) |
O1—Cu1—N1—C8 | −171.9 (2) | C3—C4—C5—C6 | 0.3 (4) |
O1i—Cu1—N1—C8 | −102.3 (2) | C4—C5—C6—C7 | −0.7 (4) |
Cl2—Cu1—N1—C8 | 34.9 (2) | C4—C5—C6—Cl1 | −180.0 (2) |
N1—Cu1—O1—C3 | −25.7 (2) | C5—C6—C7—C2 | −0.7 (4) |
O1i—Cu1—O1—C3 | −176.5 (2) | Cl1—C6—C7—C2 | 178.58 (19) |
Cl2—Cu1—O1—C3 | 92.0 (2) | C3—C2—C7—C6 | 2.4 (4) |
N1—Cu1—O1—Cu1i | 150.78 (10) | C1—C2—C7—C6 | −175.6 (2) |
O1i—Cu1—O1—Cu1i | 0.0 | C1—N1—C8—C9 | −132.1 (3) |
Cl2—Cu1—O1—Cu1i | −91.53 (12) | Cu1—N1—C8—C9 | 51.3 (3) |
C8—N1—C1—C2 | −173.3 (2) | N1—C8—C9—C10 | 31.3 (4) |
Cu1—N1—C1—C2 | 3.2 (4) | N1—C8—C9—C14 | −150.8 (3) |
N1—C1—C2—C7 | 166.4 (3) | C14—C9—C10—C11 | 0.7 (5) |
N1—C1—C2—C3 | −11.5 (4) | C8—C9—C10—C11 | 178.7 (3) |
Cu1—O1—C3—C4 | −154.0 (2) | C9—C10—C11—C12 | −1.2 (5) |
Cu1i—O1—C3—C4 | 30.6 (4) | C10—C11—C12—C13 | 0.4 (5) |
Cu1—O1—C3—C2 | 24.7 (3) | C11—C12—C13—C14 | 0.9 (6) |
Cu1i—O1—C3—C2 | −150.76 (19) | C12—C13—C14—C9 | −1.3 (6) |
C7—C2—C3—O1 | 178.6 (2) | C10—C9—C14—C13 | 0.5 (5) |
C1—C2—C3—O1 | −3.6 (4) | C8—C9—C14—C13 | −177.5 (3) |
C7—C2—C3—C4 | −2.8 (4) |
Symmetry code: (i) −x+1/2, −y+3/2, −z. |
Experimental details
Crystal data | |
Chemical formula | [Cu2(C14H11ClNO)2Cl2] |
Mr | 687.36 |
Crystal system, space group | Monoclinic, C2/c |
Temperature (K) | 298 |
a, b, c (Å) | 22.572 (3), 9.3964 (13), 16.649 (2) |
β (°) | 130.724 (2) |
V (Å3) | 2676.2 (6) |
Z | 4 |
Radiation type | Mo Kα |
µ (mm−1) | 2.02 |
Crystal size (mm) | 0.55 × 0.43 × 0.30 |
Data collection | |
Diffractometer | Siemens SMART CCD area-detector |
Absorption correction | Multi-scan (SADABS; Sheldrick, 1996) |
Tmin, Tmax | 0.379, 0.548 |
No. of measured, independent and observed [I > 2σ(I)] reflections | 6545, 2364, 1910 |
Rint | 0.027 |
(sin θ/λ)max (Å−1) | 0.595 |
Refinement | |
R[F2 > 2σ(F2)], wR(F2), S | 0.026, 0.071, 1.04 |
No. of reflections | 2364 |
No. of parameters | 172 |
H-atom treatment | H-atom parameters constrained |
Δρmax, Δρmin (e Å−3) | 0.28, −0.35 |
Computer programs: SMART (Siemens, 1996), SAINT (Siemens, 1996), SHELXS97 (Sheldrick, 1997a), SHELXL97 (Sheldrick, 1997a), SHELXTL (Sheldrick, 1997b).
Cu1—O1 | 1.9334 (16) | Cu1—Cl2 | 2.1934 (8) |
Cu1—N1 | 1.953 (2) | ||
O1—Cu1—N1 | 93.43 (8) | N1—Cu1—Cl2 | 100.42 (6) |
O1—Cu1—Cl2 | 149.90 (6) |
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful for research grant No. 02js40 from the Phytochemistry Key Laboratory of Shaanxi Province.
References
Bencini, A. & Mani, F. (1988). Inorg. Chim. Acta, 154, 215–219. CSD CrossRef CAS Web of Science Google Scholar
Jiang, Y.-M., Zeng, J.-L. & Yu, K.-B. (2004). Acta Cryst. C60, m543–m545. Web of Science CSD CrossRef CAS IUCr Journals Google Scholar
Liu, S.-J. & Su, C.-C. (1996). Polyhedron, 15, 1141–1149. CSD CrossRef CAS Web of Science Google Scholar
Sheldrick, G. M. (1996). SADABS. University of Göttingen, Germany. Google Scholar
Sheldrick, G. M. (1997a). SHELXL97 and SHELXS97. University of Göttingen, Germany. Google Scholar
Sheldrick, G. M. (1997b). SHELXTL. Version 5.1. Bruker AXS Inc., Madison, Wisconsin, USA. Google Scholar
Siemens (1996). SMART, SAINT and SADABS. Siemens Analytical X-ray Instruments Inc., Madison, Wisconsin, USA. Google Scholar
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) Licence, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original authors and source are cited.
During the past two decades, considerable attention has been paid to the chemistry of heterocyclic compounds and complexes with metal ions due to their chelating ability and their potentially beneficial chemical and biological activities. Dinuclear copper(II) units exist on active sites of many metalloenzymes and metalloproteins such as, for example, hemocyanin, tyrosinase and cytochrome oxidase. Schiff base complexes containing salicylaldehyde and amine derivatives have been also often reported. The complexes of salicylaldehyde with polyamines and bis(phenoxy)-bridged dinuclear copper(II) complexes are sparse. As an extension of our work on the structural characterization of Schiff base complexes, the crystal structure of a new dinuclear copper(II) compound is reported here.
The molecular structure of the title complex consists of two centrosymmetrically related [CuL]2+ units [where L is 4-chloro-2-(benzylaminethyl)-phenolato], which are bridged by the oxygen atoms of two phenoxy groups in such a way as to define an NCuO2CuN core. A chloride anion completes the coordination around each Cu atom (Fig. 1), thus defining a distorted tetrahedral geometry for the metal centres, with angles subtended at the copper(II) atoms in the range 93.43 (8)–149.90 (6)° (Table 1). The Cu—N, Cu—O, Cu—Cl bond lengths of 1.953 (2), 1.9334 (16) and 2.1934 (8) Å respectively (Table 1) are comparable with those reported previously (Bencini & Mani, 1988; Jiang et al., 2004; Liu & Su, 1996). The Cu···Cu separation within the dimer is 3.0702 (9) Å. The crystal packing (Fig. 2) is governed only by van der Waals interactions.