Crystal and Molecular Structure of an Unsubstituted Bis(phenoxo)-derivative of Copper(II), the [{Cu(OPh)2(en)}2] •2PhOH Dimer, with a 'Normal' Magnetic Moment at Room Temperature

The title compound has been shown by X-ray diffraction methods to be a centrosymmetric phenoxo-bridged dimer with terminal phenoxo- and ethylenediamine groups and hydrogen-bonded phenol molecules. The crystals are monoclinic, space group P21/n, and the unit cell has dimensions a = 19.000(13), b = 10.930(9), c = 8.968(5) Å, β = 89.90(2)°, U = 1 862.4 Å3, and Z = 4. The structure was refined by three-dimensional Patterson and Fourier techniques up to a conventional R value of 0.0437. The copper atoms are five-co-ordinate and the co-ordination geometry is that of a distorted square pyramid. The Cu ⋯ Cu distance is 3.215 Å. The compound has a nearly normal magnetic moment at room temperature and the results of the present investigation are discussed in connection with the known magnetic and structural data for dimeric oxygen-bridged copper(II) complexes.