Bis{2-[(phenylimino)ethyl]-1H-pyrrol-1-ido-κ2N,N′}nickel(II): a supramolecular structure formed by C-H•••π hydrogen bonds

In the title compound, [Ni(C12H11N2)(2)], the Ni-II cation lies on an inversion centre and has a square-planar coordination geometry. This transition metal complex is composed of two deprotonated N,N'-bidentate 2-[(phenylimino)ethyl]-1H-pyrrol-1-ide ligands around a central Ni-II cation, with the pyrrolide rings and imine groups lying trans to each other. The Ni-N bond lengths range from 1.894 (3) to 1.939 (2) angstrom and the bite angle is 83.13 (11)degrees. The Ni-N(pyrrolide) bond is substantially shorter than the Ni-N(imino) bond. The planes of the phenyl rings make a dihedral angle of 78.79 (9)degrees with respect to the central NiN4 plane. The molecules are linked into simple chains by an intermolecular C-H center dot center dot center dot pi interaction involving a phenyl beta-C atom as donor. Intramolecular C-H center dot center dot center dot pi interactions are also present.