Tris(μ2-2-meth-oxy-6-{[(2-sulfido-eth-yl)imino]meth-yl}phenolato)trinickel(II) di-methyl-formamide monosolvate: crystal structure, spectroscopic characterization and anti-bacterial activity.

The title trinuclear nickel(II) complex, [Ni3(C10H11NO2S)3]·C3H7NO, with a Schiff base ligand formed in situ from 2-amino-ethane-thiol and o-vanillin crystallizes in the ortho-rhom-bic space group Pbca. Its asymmetric unit consists of one neutral Ni3 L 3 mol-ecule and one DMF solvent mol-ecule. The solid-state organization of the complex can be described as an insertion of the solvent mol-ecules within the crystallographically independent trinuclear NiII species. Several C-H⋯π edge-to-face inter-actions and π-π stacking inter-actions link the components in the crystal. A first example of a short inter-molecular C-H⋯Ni contact is found. Anti-bacterial in vitro screening revealed that the title compound has anti-bacterial activity, the best effect being against Acinetobacter baumannii.