Crystal structure of poly[di-aqua-(μ-2-carb-oxy-acetato-κ(3) O,O':O'')(2-carb-oxy-acetato-κO)di-μ-chlorido-dicobalt(II)].

The asymmetric unit of the title polymer, [Co2(C3H3O4)2Cl2(H2O)2] n , comprises one Co(II) atom, one water mol-ecule, one singly deprotonated malonic acid mol-ecule (HMal(-); systematic name 2-carb-oxy-acetate) and one Cl(-) anion. The Co(II) atom is octa-hedrally coordinated by the O atom of a water mol-ecule, by one terminally bound carboxyl-ate O atom of an HMal(-) anion and by two O atoms of a chelating HMal(-) anion, as well as by two Cl(-) anions. The Cl(-) anions bridge two Co(II) atoms, forming a centrosymmetric Co2Cl2 core. Each malonate ligand is involved in the formation of six-membered chelate rings involving one Co(II) atom of the dinuclear unit and at the same time is coordinating to another Co(II) atom of a neighbouring dinuclear unit in a bridging mode. The combination of chelating and bridging coordination modes leads to the formation of a two-dimensional coordination polymer extending parallel to (001). Within a layer, O-Hwater⋯Cl and O-Hwater⋯O hydrogen bonds are present. Adjacent layers are linked through O-H⋯O=C hydrogen bonds involving the carb-oxy-lic acid OH and carbonyl groups.