Synthesis and crystal structure of an iron(II) dimeric complex

An iron(II) complex, $[Fe_2(salen)_2]$ has been prepared by the reaction of $[Fe^{III}(salen)Cl]$ with copper(II) malonate dihydrate [salen = N,N'-ethylenebis(salicylideneiminato) dianion] in N,N-dimethylformamide-water mixture. The complex has been characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy, UV-vis spectra, thermogravimetric analysis, cyclic voltammetry and X-ray crystallography. The iron(II) complex 1 crystallizes in the monoclinic, space group C2/c, a = 26.664(5) \AA, b = 6.9943(11) \AA, c = 14.727(2) \AA, $\beta = 97.498(3)^o$, and Z = 8. The structural study reveals that it is a penta-coordinate Fe(II) dimeric complex.