Syn–anti and anti–anti conformations of a diimine derived from p-xylylenediamine and its neutral CoII and ZnII dinuclear complexes

A symmetric diimine ligand containing a single bondCH2single bondPhsingle bondCH2single bond bridging group (H2XyTs: N,N′-bis(2-tosylaminobenzylidene)-1,4-xylylenediamine) and its neutral CoII and ZnII dinuclear complexes have been prepared. Two different crystal structures of the free ligand, H2XyTs, and that corresponding to [Co2(XyTs)2], have been solved by X-ray diffraction methods. These revealed two different conformations (syn–anti and anti–anti) for H2XyTs and an infrequent rotational isomerism on the xylylene rings of its CoII dinuclear complex, where both ligands are syn–anti conformed. Characterisation of the compounds is completed with FT-IR, ESI-MS and 1H NMR spectroscopic techniques, when possible.