Diaqua-bis-(1,10-phenanthroline-κN,N')cadmium sulfate hexa-hydrate.

The title compound, [Cd(C(12)H(8)N(2))(2)(H(2)O)(2)]SO(4)·6H(2)O, was obtained unexpectedly during an attempt to synthesize a cadmium complex with bidentate bridging sulfate ligands via hydro-thermal synthesis. The Cd(II) metal ion is six-coordinated by two chelating 1,10-phenanthroline ligands and two water mol-ecules, resulting in a distorted octa-hedral geometry for the metal ion. The two chelating N(2)C(2) groups are almost perpendicular to each other [dihedral angle = 86.75 (2)°]. In the crystal, the [Cd(C(12)H(8)N(2))(2)(H(2)O)(2)](2+) complex cations join with the sulfate anions through two O(water)-H⋯O(sulfate) hydrogen bonds. These ion pairs are further inter-linked into a two-dimensional supermolecular structure via additional O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds.