[N-(1-Aza­nidyl-2,2,2-trichloro­ethyl­idene)-2,2,2-trichloro­ethanimidamide]­copper(II)

The title compound, [Cu(C₄H₂Cl₆N₃)₂], was obtained by the reaction of CCl₃CN with ammonia in presence of CuCl. The Cu^II atom is located about an inversion centre. The mol­ecule consists of three planar units (one central square CuN₄ and two C₂N₃ fragments), adopting a staircase-like structure. The six-membered metallocycles have a sofa conformation with the Cu atom out of the plane of the 1,3,5-triaza­penta­dienyl ligands by 0.246 (5) Å. The ipso-C atoms of the CCl₃ substituents are slightly out of the 1,3,5-triaza­penta­dienyl planes by 0.149 (6) and −0.106 (6) Å. The CCl₃ groups of each 1,3,5-triaza­penta­dienyl ligand are practically in the energetic­ally favourable mutually eclipsed conformation. In the crystal, the mol­ecules are packed in stacks along the a axis. The mol­ecules in the stacks are held together by two additional axial Cu...Cl inter­actions of 3.354 (2) Å. Taking the axial Cu...Cl inter­actions into account, the Cu^II atom exhibits a distorted [4 + 2]-octa­hedral coordination environment. The stacks are bound to each other by weak inter­molecular attractive Cl...Cl [3.505 (2)–3.592 (3) Å] inter­actions.