Distorted zinc coordination polyhedra in bis(1-ethoxy-2-{[(2-methoxyethyl)imino]methyl}propan-1-olato)zinc, a possible CVD precursor for zinc oxide thin films

A new metal–organic precursor for the chemical vapor deposition of zinc oxide thin films, [Zn(C 9 H 16 NO 3 ) 2 ], has been synthesized and characterized by 1 H and 13 C NMR spectroscopy, single-crystal X-ray diffraction and thermogravimetric analysis. The asymmetric unit of the title compound consists of two molecules ( Z ′ = 2), with different zinc coordination polyhedra. In one molecule, the metal atom is in a distorted trigonal–bipyramidal ZnN 2 O 3 environment (τ 5 = 0.192) with a long bond to an ether O donor atom [Zn—O = 2.727 (6) Å]. In the other, the Zn atom is in a distorted ZnN 2 O 4 octahedral environment with long bonds to the ether O donors of both ligands [Zn—O = 2.514 (4) and 2.661 (4) Å; O—Zn—O = 82.46 (14)°]. The crystal structure features weak C—H...·O interactions.