Molecular structure of tris[(6-bromopyridin-2-yl)methyl]amine

Coordination compounds of polydentate nitro-gen ligands with metals are used extensively in research areas such as catalysis, and as models of complex active sites of enzymes in bioinorganic chemistry. Tris(2-pyridyl-meth-yl)amine (TPA) is a tripodal tetra-dentate ligand that is known to form coordination compounds with metals, including copper, iron and zinc. The related compound, tris-[(6-bromo-pyridin-2-yl)meth-yl]amine (TPABr₃), C₁₈H₁₅Br₃N₄, which possesses a bromine atom on the 6-position of each of the three pyridyl moieties, is also known but has not been heavily investigated. The mol-ecular structure of TPABr₃ as determined by X-ray diffraction is reported here. The TPABr₃ molecule belongs to the triclinic, <i>P</i> space group and displays interesting intermolecular Br⋯Br interactions that provide a stabilizing influence within the molecule.