A new potential NLO compound with a supra­molecular layered structure: aqua­(hexamethyl­ene­tetra­mine-κN)(imino­diacetato-κ³O,N,O′)copper(II)

In the noncentrosymmetric title compound, [Cu(C₄H₅NO₄)(C₆H₁₂N₄)(H₂O)] or [Cu(IDA)(HMTA)(H₂O)], where IDA is imino­diacetate and HMTA is hexa­methyl­ene­tetra­mine, the asymmetric unit consists of a whole mononuclear neutral mol­ecule, where the Cu^II cation is coordinated by two carboxyl­ate O atoms and one N atom from the IDA ligand, by one N atom from the HMTA ligand and by the O atom of the coordinated water mol­ecule, giving rise to a CuN₂O₃ distorted square-pyramidal coordination geometry. The IDA and HTMA ligands adopt terminal tri- and monocoordinated modes, respectively. All adjacent mol­ecules within the ac plane are connected to each other via two pairs of O—H...O and one N—H...O hydrogen bond, forming a (4,4) supra­molecular two-dimensional network. In the unit cell, these layers stack alternately in an …ABABAB… sequence along the b axis. The optical absorption properties of this compound have been studied on powder samples, which had previously been examined by powder X-ray diffraction.