A general high-yield route to bis(salicylaldimine) zinc(II) complexes: application to the synthesis of pyridine-modified salen-type zinc(II) complexes.

A general, direct, and high-yield synthesis of bis(salicylaldimine) zinc complexes from the ligands and Et(2)Zn is reported. This synthetic method is particularly valuable, not only because it allows the efficient preparation of salen-type complexes of zinc but also because it can be used to prepare bifunctional pyridine-modified zinc(II) bis(salicylidene) complexes, which are potentially useful compounds for applications in asymmetric catalysis and materials chemistry. The synthesis and complete structural characterization of a new series of pyridine-modified zinc(II) bis(salicylidene) ligands is discussed.