Crystal structures of two (5,5,7,12,12,14-hexamethyl-1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane)iron(III) complexes

Reported in this contribution are the synthesis and crystal structures of two new Fe-III complexes of 5,5,7,12,12,14-hexamethyl-1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane (HMC), namely, dichlorido(5,5,7,12,12,14-hexamethyl-1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane)iron(III) chloride, [FeCl2(C16H36N4)]Cl or cis-[FeCl2(rac-HMC)]Cl (1), and dichlorido(5,5,7,12,12,14-hexamethyl-1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane)iron(III) tetrachloridoferrate, [FeCl2(C16H36N4)][FeCl4] or trans-[FeCl2(meso-HMC)][FeCl4] (2). Single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies revealed that both 1 and 2 adopt a pseudo-octahedral geometry, where the macrocycles adopt folded and planar geometries, respectively. The chloride ligands in 1 are cis to each other, while those in 2 have a trans configuration. The relevant bond angles in 1 deviate substantially from an ideal octahedral coordination geometry, with the angles between the cis substituents varying from 81.55 (5) to 107.56 (4)degrees, and those between the trans-ligating atoms varying from 157.76 (8) to 170.88 (3)degrees. In contrast, 2 adopts a less strained configuration, in which the N-Fe-N angles vary from 84.61 (8) to 95.39 (8)degrees and the N-Fe-Cl angles vary from 86.02 (5) to 93.98 (5)degrees.