Trinitratobis{N'-[1-(2-pyridyl)ethylidene]isonicotinohydrazide}cerium(III): a three-dimensional cerium-organic supramolecular structure.

The Ce(III) ion in the title complex, [Ce(NO(3))(3)(C(13)H(12)N(4)O)(2)], is 12-coordinated by six chelating nitrate O atoms and six donors (2 O and 4 N atoms) of two N'-[1-(2-pyridyl)ethylidene]isonicotinohydrazide ligands, exhibiting a bicapped pentagonal-antiprism-type coordination geometry. The title complex possesses C(2) point symmetry and is located on a twofold crystallographic axis. Each molecule is linked with four surrounding molecules by four N-H...N hydrogen bonds, resulting in an extended two-dimensional layer parallel to the ab plane, while pi-pi interactions between pyridine rings from neighboring complex molecules connect the two-dimensional layers into a three-dimensional cerium-organic supramolecular structure.