Crystal structure of an unknown solvate of dodecakis(μ2-alaninato-1:2κ2 O:N,O)cerium(III)hexanickel(II) aquatris(hydroxido-κO)tris(nitrato-κ2 O,O′)cerate(III)

The chiral title compound, [CeNi₆(C₃H₆NO₂)₁₂][Ce(NO₃)₃(OH)₃(H₂O)], comprises a complex heterometallic Ni/Ce cation and a homonuclear Ce anion. Both the cation and anion exhibit point group symmetry 3. with the Ce^IIIatom situated on the threefold rotation axis. The cation metal core consists of six Ni^IIatoms coordinated in a slightly distorted octahedral N₂O₄configuration by N and O atoms of 12 deprotonated L-alaninate ligands exhibiting both bridging and chelating modes. This metal–organic coordination motif encapsulates one Ce^IIIatom that shows an icosahedral coordination by the O-donor atoms of the L-alaninate ligands, with Ce—O distances varying in the range 2.455 (5)–2.675 (3) Å. In the anion, the central Ce^IIIion is bound to three bidentate nitrate ligands, to three hydroxide ligands and to one water molecule, with Ce—O distances in the range 2.6808 (19)–2.741 (2) Å. The H atoms of the coordinating water molecule are disordered over three positions due to its location on a threefold rotation axis. Disorder is also observed in fragments of two L-alaninate ligands, with occupancy ratios of 0.608 (14):0.392 (14) and 0.669 (8):0.331 (8), respectively, for the two sets of sites. In the crystal, the complex cations and anions assemble through O—H...O and N—H...O hydrogen bonds into a three-dimensional network with large voids of approximately 1020 ų. The contributions of highly disordered ethanol and water solvent molecules to the diffraction data were removed with the SQUEEZE procedure [Spek (2015).Acta Cryst.C71, 9–18]. The given chemical formula and other crystal data do not take into account the unknown amount of these solvent molecules.