Distorted Copper(II) Complex with Unusually Short CF•••Cu Distances

We find a Cu(II)-(L-CF3)(2) complex (L-CF3 = 2,2,2-trifluoro-N-[2-(pyridin-2-yl)propan-2-yl]acetamide) with a distorted "seesaw" geometry. It has the shortest crystallographic CF center dot center dot center dot Cu distances yet reported, to the best of our knowledge (<2.6 A), for which computational and experimental data indicate a secondary bonding interaction. A comparison with a CCl3 version and one without ligand backbone gem-dimethyl groups suggests a steric origin for the distorted geometry, resulting from the specific ligand interactions.