Reaction of M(NO
3)
2·
xH
2O (M = Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn) with 3-diphenylamino-4-hydroxycyclobut-3-ene-1,2-dione (diphenylaminosquarate) produces the neutral polymeric species {M[
G SRC="/images/entities/mgr.gif">-(C6H5)2NC4O3]2[H2O]2}n [M = Mn(1), Cu (2)]; {M[
ges/entities/mgr.gif">-(C6H5)2NC4O3][(C6H5)2NC4O3][H2O]3}n [M = Co (3), Zn (4)]; and in the case of Ni, the salt[Ni(H2O)6][(C6H5)2NC4O3]2·2H2O (5). Complexes 1 and 2 are isomorphous and crystallize in the monoclinicspace group P21/c with, for 1, a = 13.138(1) Å, b = 10.900(2) Å, c = 9.269(2) Å,
ges/gifchars/beta2.gif" BORDER=0 ALIGN="middle"> = 96.07(1)
ges/entities/deg.gif">, and Z = 2.Complexes 3 and 4 are also isomorphous and crystallize in the space group P21/c with, for 3, a = 13.211(1) Å,b = 11.038(1) Å, c = 18.748(1) Å,
ges/gifchars/beta2.gif" BORDER=0 ALIGN="middle"> = 97.75(1)
ges/entities/deg.gif">, and Z = 4. The nickel salt, 5, crystallizes in the triclinic spacegroup P
gif"> with a = 6.181(1) Å, b = 9.417(1) Å, c = 15.486(1) Å,
ges/gifchars/alpha.gif" BORDER=0> = 101.37(1)
ges/entities/deg.gif">,
ges/gifchars/beta2.gif" BORDER=0 ALIGN="middle"> = 95.51(1)
ges/entities/deg.gif">,
ges/gifchars/gamma.gif" BORDER=0 > = 107.57(1)
ges/entities/deg.gif">, and Z = 1. In 1 and 2, the metal coordination is octahedral, comprising four
ges/entities/mgr.gif">-1,3-bridging diphenylaminosquarate ligands and two trans aqua ligands. In 3 and 4, the metal coordination is again octahedral, comprisingtwo
ges/entities/mgr.gif">-1,3-bridging and one pendant diphenylaminosquarate ligands, the octahedron being completed by threeaqua ligands in a meridional configuration. In 5, the hexaaquanickel(II) ion is linked by O-H···O hydrogenbonds to a pair of diphenylaminosquarate anions. These anion-cation units are linked via included water moleculesto form hydrogen-bonded chains. The diphenylaminosquarate ligands in the polymeric complexes 1-4 displaymultiple-bond localization, a feature which is absent in 5. Complex 1 exhibits weak antiferromagnetic coupling,whereas 2 shows no significant magnetic interactions.