(Benzoato-κO)chlorido[(-)-sparteine-κN,N']zinc(II).

The title complex, [Zn(C(7)H(5)O(2))Cl(C(15)H(26)N(2))], used for the magnetic dilution of the analogous Cu(II) complex, was synthesized through a direct synthesis route. The coordination geometry around Zn(II) is best described as distorted tetra-hedral, the largest deviation arising from the (-)-sparteine ligand, as is invariably found in complexes containing this rather rigid mol-ecule. The benzoate anion behaves as a monodentate ligand, with a non-coordinating Zn⋯O separation of 2.969 (5) Å. Mol-ecules are packed in the crystal without significant inter-molecular inter-actions. The shortest Zn⋯Zn separation [6.8186 (7) Å] is observed between mol-ecules related through the 2(1) screw axis. This is an important feature for the magnetic behaviour of the Cu(II) analogue, which is intended for modeling isolated metal centers in the active site of type 1 blue copper proteins.