Tris(2,2'-bi-pyridine)-iron(II) tris-(di-cyano-methylidene)methane-diide.

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, [Fe(C10H8N2)3][C{C(CN)2}3], contains an iron-bipyridyl unit and one third of two crystallographic independent tris-(di-cyano-methyl-idene)methane-diide units. As a result of crystallographic site symmetry the ratio of cations to anions is 1:1. The tris-(2,2'-bi-pyridine)-iron(II) cation has threefold symmetry. The two crystallographic independent tris-(di-cyano-methyl-idene)methane-diide ions are disordered over two atomic sites having equal occupancy. The anions have 3 symmetry. In the crystal, hydrogen bonds between cations and anions form complex layers parallel to (001). These are supplemented by hydrogen bonds perpendicular to the former, leading to a three-dimensional network.