Two scandium–biuret complexes: [Sc(C2H5N3O2)(H2O)5]Cl3·H2O and [Sc(C2H5N3O2)4](NO3)3

Abstract

The scandium(III) cations in the structures of pentaaqua(biuret-kappa(2)O,O')scandium(III) trichloride monohydrate, [Sc(C(2)H(5)N(3)O(2))(H(2)O)(5)]Cl(3) x H(2)O, (I), and tetrakis(biuret-kappa(2)O,O')scandium(III) trinitrate, [Sc(C(2)H(5)N(3)O(2))(4)](NO(3))(3), (II), are found to adopt very different coordinations with the same biuret ligand. The roles of hydrogen bonding and the counter-ion in the establishment of the structures are described. In (I), the Sc(3+) cation adopts a fairly regular pentagonal bipyramidal coordination geometry arising from one O,O'-bidentate biuret molecule and five water molecules. A dense network of N-H...Cl, O-H...O and O-H...Cl hydrogen bonds help to establish the packing, resulting in dimeric associations of two cations and two water molecules. In (II), the Sc(3+) cation (site symmetry 2) adopts a slightly squashed square-antiprismatic geometry arising from four O,O'-bidentate biuret molecules. A network of N-H...O hydrogen bonds help to establish the packing, which features [010] chains of cations. One of the nitrate ions is disordered about an inversion centre. Both structures form three-dimensional hydrogen-bond networks.