Crystal structure of bis(4-benzoylpyridine-κN)bis(methanol-κO)bis(thiocyanato-κN)nickel(II) methanol monosolvate

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, [Ni(NCS)2(C12H9NO)2(CH3OH)2]·CH3OH, comprises one NiII cation, two thiocyanate anions, two 4-benzoylpyridine coligands, two coordinating, as well as one non-coordinating methanol molecule. The NiII cation is coordinated by two terminally N-bonded thiocyanate anions, the N atoms of two 4-benzoylpyridine coligands and the O atoms of two methanol ligands within a slightly distorted octahedron. Individual complexes are linked by intermolecular O—H...S hydrogen bonding into chains parallel to [010] that are further connected into layers parallel to (10\overline{1}) by C—H...S hydrogen bonds. Additional C—H...O hydrogen-bonding interactions lead to the formation of a three-dimensional network that limits channels extending parallel to [010] in which the non-coordinating methanol molecules are located. They are hydrogen-bonded to the coordinating methanol molecules. X-ray powder diffraction revealed that the compound could not be prepared as a pure phase