Structure determination of di-μ-hydroxo-bis[(2-(2-pyridyl)phenyl-κ2N,C1)palladium(II)] by X-ray powder diffractometry

The title compound was synthesized in the form of a powder, and was studied by elemental analysis, IR spectroscopy, thermogravimetry and mass spectroscopy. Its crystal structure was then determined by X-ray powder diffractometry, using X-ray diffraction data collected in the reflection Bragg–Brentano geometry. The methodology followed in the present study to resolve the crystal structure consisted of peak indexing, then the use of the Monte-Carlo/parallel tempering search algorithm, and finally Rietveld refinement coupled with difference-Fourier synthesis. We found that the crystals are composed of monoclinic unit cells, with 1.5 molecules in the asymmetric unit and therefore six molecules per unit cell. In addition, we concluded that the complexes adopt a planar conformation, forming trimers created by groups of parallel molecules.