[N-(1-Azanidyl-2,2,2-trichloroethylidene)-2,2,2-trichloroethanimidamide]copper(II)

The title compound, [Cu(C4H2Cl6N3)2], was obtained by the reaction of CCl3CN with ammonia in presence of CuCl. The CuII atom is located about an inversion centre. The molecule consists of three planar units (one central square CuN4 and two C2N3 fragments), adopting a staircase-like structure. The six-membered metallocycles have a sofa conformation with the Cu atom out of the plane of the 1,3,5-triazapentadienyl ligands by 0.246 (5) Å. The ipso-C atoms of the CCl3 substituents are slightly out of the 1,3,5-triazapentadienyl planes by 0.149 (6) and −0.106 (6) Å. The CCl3 groups of each 1,3,5-triazapentadienyl ligand are practically in the energetically favourable mutually eclipsed conformation. In the crystal, the molecules are packed in stacks along the a axis. The molecules in the stacks are held together by two additional axial Cu...Cl interactions of 3.354 (2) Å. Taking the axial Cu...Cl interactions into account, the CuII atom exhibits a distorted [4 + 2]-octahedral coordination environment. The stacks are bound to each other by weak intermolecular attractive Cl...Cl [3.505 (2)–3.592 (3) Å] interactions