Crystal and molecular structures of the organometallic species [Rh2(bim)2(cod)2]Cl2•2H2O[bim = bis-(1-imidazolyl) methane; cod=1,5-cyclooctadiene]

The synthesis and X-ray powder diffraction data for the organometallic [Rh-2(bim)(2)(cod)(2)]Cl-2.2H(2)O species are reported. Its crystal and molecular structures were determined by simulated annealing and full-profile Rietveld refinement methods. [Rh-2(bim)(2)(cod)(2)]Cl-2.2H(2)O was found to crystallize in the orthorhombic Cmca space group. The lattice parameters were determined to be a =21.3574(6), b=10.7764(3), c=14.2795(4) angstrom, V=3286.5(2) angstrom(3), for Z=4. The crystal structure was found to contain dimeric [Rh-2(bim)(2)(cod)(2)](2+) cations, in which the bim ligands bridge Rh(cod) fragments with an intermetallic separation of ca. 8.90 angstrom. The crystal structure is completed by chloride ions and hydrogen-bonded water molecules, situated in the small cavities of the large cation substructure. The conformation of the bim ligand, lying on a crystallographic mirror plane, is rigorously C-s (C) 2007 International Centre for Diffraction Data.