Topotactic desolvation and oriented intergrowth in an iron(II) pincer complex

Crystals of an oriented intergrowth of the Fe II pincer complex 1 [ P 2 1 / c , Z = 4, a = 12.3065 (9) Å, b = 11.8079 (6) Å, c = 22.2640 (15) Å, β = 101.097 (6)°, V = 3174.8 (4) Å 3 ] and its hemi-pentane solvate [ P 2 1 / c , Z = 4, a = 14.6190 (4) Å, b = 11.7744 (2) Å, c = 21.8934 (7) Å, β = 113.556 (2)°, V = 3454.47 (17) Å 3 ] were analyzed using X-ray single-crystal diffraction. The structures of both phases were determined in a combined refinement against the same data set with reflection overlap information. The structures contain geometrically equivalent (up to moderate distortion) layers of Fe i Pr PCP(CO)(COPr)(NC t Bu) ( 1 ) extending parallel to (100) and can therefore be described as being part of a polytype family, if the solvent molecule is considered as an impurity between the layers. On standing, crystals lose pentane, ultimately transforming into the non-solvate in a topotactic reaction.