Aqua(1,10-phenanthroline)(L-serinato)copper(II) Nitrate

The unit cell of the title complex, [Cu(C3H6NO3)-(C12HsN2)(H20)]NO3, contains two nitrate anions and two complex cations, each with two chiral centers, one in the serine molecule and the other at the Cu ion. Each Cu ion displays slightly distorted square-pyramidal coordination, with the water molecule in the apical position and the base defined by the aliphatic N atom and one of the O atoms from the aminocarboxylate ligand and the two N atoms from the phenanthroline molecule. The relative position of the apical water molecule generates the chiral center at the Cu ion. In both molecules, the five-membered chelate ring defined by atoms N 1, C 12, C 11, N2 and Cu is roughly planar, while the ring defined by atoms N3, C13, C14, O1 and Cu has a distorted half-chair conformation.