Bis{2-[(5-hydroxypentyl)iminomethyl]phenolato-κ² N,O ¹}copper(II)

In the title compound, [Cu(C12H16NO2)2], the Cu^II ion, located on a center of inversion, is coordinated by two singly deprotonated Schiff base ligands derived from condensation of salicyldehyde and 1-aminopentan-5-ol. The imino N and phenol O atoms from both ligands offer a square-planar arrangement around the metal ion. The Cu - N and Cu - O bond lengths are 2.0146 (15) and 1.8870 (12) Å, respectively. Since the Cu - O and Cu - N bond lengths are different, it can be concluded that the resulting geometry of the complex is distorted. The aliphatic -OH group of the ligand is not coordinated and points away from the metal coordination zone and actively participates in hydrogen bonding connecting two other units and thus stabilizing the crystal lattice. This results in a two-dimensional extended array parallel to (201).