Tris(ethylenediamine)cobalt(II) dichloride

The title compound, [Co-II (C2H8N2)(3)]Cl-2, was obtained unexpectedly as the product of an attempted solvothermal synthesis of cobalt selenide from the elements in the presence of NH4Cl in ethylenediamine solvent. The three chelate rings of the distorted octahedral [Co(C2H8N2)(3)](2+) complex cation adopt twisted conformations about their C-C bonds. The spread of cis-N-Co-N bond angles [80.17 (6)-98.10 (6)degrees] in the title compound is considerably greater than the equivalent data for [Co-III (C2H8N2)(3)]Cl-3 [Takamizawa et al. (2008). Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 47, 1689-1692]. In the crystal, the components are linked by numerous N-H center dot center dot center dot Cl hydrogen bonds, generating a three-dimensional network in which the cationic complexes are stacked in columns along [010] and separated by columns of chloride anions.