A General High-Yield Route to Bis(salicylaldimine) Zinc(II) Complexes: Application to the Synthesis of Pyridine-Modified Salen-Type Zinc(II) Complexes

A general, direct, and high-yield synthesis of bis(salicylaldimine) zinc complexes from the ligands and Et2Zn is
reported. This synthetic method is particularly valuable, not only because it allows the efficient preparation of
salen-type complexes of zinc but also because it can be used to prepare bifunctional pyridine-modified zinc(II)
bis(salicylidene) complexes, which are potentially useful compounds for applications in asymmetric catalysis and
materials chemistry. The synthesis and complete structural characterization of a new series of pyridine-modified
zinc(II) bis(salicylidene) ligands is discussed.