Transformations of the chameleon ligand 1,10-phenanthroline-5,6-dione/diol: cis-dichlorido(1,10-phenanthroline-5,6-dione-[kappa]²N,N')-trans-dipyridine­cobalt(II) pyridine disolvate prepared from the diol

The title compound, [CoCl₂(C₅H₅N)₂(C₁₂H₆N₂O₂)]·2C₅H₅N, is a neutral Co^II complex with two chloride anions coordinated in a cis fashion, two pyridine ligands in trans positions and a chelating 1,10-phenanthroline-5,6-dione ligand that completes the octa­hedral coordination geometry. Two pyridine solvent mol­ecules reside in channels (about 7 × 4 Å wide; the closest atom-atom distance within the channel is 10 Å). The three-dimensional structure supporting these channels is held together by C-H...Cl [3.466 (8)-3.670 (9) Å] and C-H...O [3.014 (9)-3.285 (8) Å] hydrogen bonds, and can be viewed as a CsCl or bcu (body-centred cubic) net.