Preparation, properties, and crystal structure of dichloro(1,3-dibenzoyl-2-azapropenato)(ethanol)iron(III)

The compound dichloro(1,3-dibenzoyl-2-azapropenato)(ethanol)iron(III), Fe(C₁₆H₁₂NO₂)Cl₂(C₂H ₅OH), has been prepared, and its structure has been determined crystallographically. The compound was prepared by the reaction of iron(II) chloride with α-aminoacetophenone in the presence of air. The structure consists of octahedral iron(III) coordinated by two chlorides, an ethanol, and a tridentate ligand derived from two molecules of α-aminoacetophenone by oxidation and condensation. The two five-membered rings of the ligand are virtually identical. The compound crystallizes in monoclinic space group C2/c with eight formula units in a unit cell of dimensions a = 29.606 (8) Å, b = 6.689 (1) Å, c = 20.627 (6) Å, β = 114.70 (2)°, ρ_calcd = 1.51 g/cm³, and ρ_obsd = 1.51 g/cm³. The structure was solved by Patterson methods, and least-squares refinement converged at final values of R = 0.066 and R_w = 0.045 for 1729 reflections with I ≥ 2σ(I).