Crystal structure of {aquaimidazole-[2-(2-carbamoylhydrazone)-propionato]} copper(II) nitrate

The crystal structure of {aquaimidazole[2-(2-carbamoylhydrazone)-propionato]}copper(II) nitrate [Cu(L)Im(H2O)]NO3 (I), where HL is the semicarbazone of pyruvic acid, Im is imidazole, is dtermined. The crystal structure of I contains two independent complexes IA and IB in which copper atoms coordinate once deprotonated tridentate HL, imidazole, and water molecules. Outer spheres of the complexes contain nitrate ions. In the compounds studied the coordination polyhedron of the copper atom is a distorted tetragonal pyramid. Its base is composed of carboxyl and carbamide oxygen atoms, azomethine nitrogen of monodeprotonated HL molecules, and the imidazole nitrogen atom. In the crystal, nitrate ions and imidazole molecules link the complexes via hydrogen bonds into 2D networks parallel to the (010) plane. These networks in turn are in pairs arranged into layers along the [010] direction due to hydrogen bonds between water molecules and oxygen atoms of nitrate ions, and also by water molecules and O3 atoms of the neighboring 2D networks. In the crystal, the π-π stacking interaction is observed between the imidazole rings from different layers and there is also a N-O…Cg (π ring) interaction inside the layers.