Syntheses, Hirshfeld surface analyses and magnetism of two complexes with flexible carboxylates

Two Cu-based complexes with chemical formulae {[Cu-2(L)(3)(2,2'-bipy)(2)]center dot NO3 center dot 2H(2)O}(1) and {[Cu-2(L)(2)(H2O)(2)(phen)(2)]center dot 2NO(3)center dot H2O} (2) (HLH3-(4-hydroxyphenyl) propanoic acid) have been synthesized and structurally characterized. Single-crystal X-ray analyses reveal that compounds 1 and 2 have dinuclear Cu(II) units linking by carboxylate groups. The chelating N-donor ligands with 2,2'-bipy and phen bind to Cu(II) centers and there are weaker Cu-Cu bond interactions as well. The detailed analyses of Hirshfeld surface and fingerprint plots provide insight into the nature of noncovalent interactions in the title compounds. Furthermore, the magnetic properties of compounds 1 and 2 and related atoms-in-molecule calculations were discussed in detail.