A dinuclear zinc complex with (E)-4-dimethylamino-N′-(2-hydroxybenzylidene)benzohydrazide

The title compound, bis[μ-(E)-2-({2-[4-(dimethylamino)benzoyl]hydrazinylidene}methyl)phenolato]bis[formatozinc], [Zn2(C16H16N3O2)2(CHO2)2], is a dinuclear ZnII complex containing two ZnII cations, two monovalent anions of a Schiff base ligand, 4-dimethylamino-N′-(2-hydroxybenzylidene)benzohydrazide (L), and two formate ions. Each ZnII atom chelates with the hydroxy O atom of salicylaldehyde, the imine N atom, the carbonyl O atom, the formate carboxylate O atom and the hydroxy O atom of the salicylaldehyde moiety in a symmetry-related unit. The five-coordinate ZnII atoms form a dimeric centrosymmetric unit with a central parallelepiped Zn2O2 core and parallel faces derived from the Schiff base ligands. The crystal packing is stabilized by intermolecular N—H...O hydrogen bonds between the amide N atom and the formate carboxylate O atom.