A tetra­nuclear cubane-like nickel(II) complex with a tridentate salicyl­idene­imine Schiff base ligand: tetra­kis­[μ3-4-methyl-N-(2-oxidophen­yl)salicylideneiminato]tetra­kis­[methano­lnickel(II)] methanol 0.8-solvate

The tetra-nuclear title complex, [Ni4(C14H11NO2)4(CH3OH)4]·0.8CH3OH, has a distorted cubane topology shaped by four Schiff base ligands. The cubane [Ni4(μ3-O4)] core is formed via the O atoms from the Schiff base ligands. The octa-hedrally coordinated NiII ions occupy alternating vertices of the cube. Each NiII ion is coordinated by one O,N,O'-tridentate dianionic ligand, two O atoms of oxidophenyl groups from adjacent ligands and the O atom of a coordinating methanol mol-ecule. The cubane core is stabilized via an intra-molecular O-H⋯O hydrogen bond between the hy-droxy group of the coordinating methanol mol-ecules and the phenolate O atom of the aldehyde Schiff base fragment. Additional stabilization is obtained via intra-molecular C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds involving aromatic C-H groups and the oxygen atoms of adjacent methanol mol-ecules. In the crystal, complex mol-ecules are linked into chains parallel to the c axis via weak C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds. The partial-occupancy disordered methanol solvent mol-ecule has a site occupancy of 0.8 and is linked to the tetra-nuclear unit via an inter-molecular C-H⋯O hydrogen bond involving a phenolate O atom.