A (salicylidene)aniline derived Schiff-base adduct of methyltrioxorhenium(VII)–Cis-and trans-coordination of the ligand

A (salicylidene)aniline derived Schiff-base adduct of methyltrioxorhenium(VII), displaying both a cis- and a trans-arrangement of the Schiff-base ligand to the Re bound methyl group has been synthesized and described. Despite displaying some significant differences in the solid state (e.g. Re–O (Schiff base) bond distance, Re–C bond distance and several bond angles), the two configurations are indistinguishable in solution, obviously interchanging quickly.