A new lanthanum(III) complex containing acetylacetone and 1H-imidazole

In the title complex, diaqua(1H-imidazole-κN3)(nitrato-κ2O,O′)bis(4-oxopent-2-en-2-olato-κ2O,O′)lanthanum(III), [La(C5H7O2)2(NO3)(C3H4N2)(H2O)2], the La atom is coordinated by eight O atoms of two acetylacetonate (acac) anions acting as bidentate ligands, two water molecule as monodentate ligands, one nitrate anions as a bidentate ligand and one N atom of an imidazolate (ImH) molecule as a monodentate ligand. Thus, the coordination number of the La atom is nine in a monocapped square antiprismatic polyhedron. There are three types of intermolecular hydrogen bonds between ligands, the first involving nitrate–water O...H—O interactions running along the [001] direction, the second involving acac–water O...H—O interactions along the [010] direction and the third involving an Im–nitrate N—H...O interaction along the [100] direction (five interactions of this type). Thus, an overall one-dimensional network structure is generated. The molecular plane of an ImH molecule is almost parallel to that of a nitrate ligand, making an angle of only 6.04 (12)°. Interestingly, the ImH plane is nearly perpendicular to the planes of two neighbouring acac ligands.