An unusual bowl-shaped aluminum–nitrogen cage compound

Trimethylaluminum reacts with 2,6-diaminopyridine in a 3:2 mole ratio to form the unusual cage-type compound AlMe[AlMe2{N(H),N(H)–C5H3N}]2 (1). The structure of 1, which was established by single crystal X-ray diffraction, features an overall bowl shape. The bowls stack along the (0 1 0) direction.