A new heteroleptic oxalate-based compound: poly[[2-(aminomethyl)pyridine]di-μ 6 -oxalato-chromium(III)potassium(I)]

International audienceThe title compound, [KCr(C2O2)2(C6H8N2)]n, was obtained from aqueous solution and analyzed with single-crystal X-ray diffraction at 100 K. It crystallizes in the monoclinic space group C2/c and displays a three-dimensional polymeric architecture built up by bimetallic oxalate-bridged CrIII-K helical chains linked through centrosymmetric K2O2 units to yield a sheet-like alternating P/M arrangement which looks like that of the previously described two-dimensional [NaCr(ox)2(pyim)(H2O)]·2H2O [pyim is 2-(pyridin-2-yl)imidazole; Lei et al. (2006). Inorg. Chem. Commun. 9, 486-488]. The CrIII ions in each helix have the same chirality. The infinite neutral sheets are eclipsed with respect to each other and are held together by a hy­dro­gen-bonding network involving 2-(amino­meth­yl)pyridine H atoms and oxalate O atoms. Each sheet gives rise to channels of Cr4K4 octanuclear rings and each resultant hole is occupied by a pair of 2-(amino­meth­yl)pyridine ligands with partial overlap. The shortest Cr...Cr distance [5.593 (4) Å] is shorter than usually observed in the K-MIII-oxalate family