Ammonium bis(salicylaldehyde thiosemicarbazonato)ferrate(III), a supramolecular material containing low-spin FeIII

The synthesis and crystal structure (100 K) of the title com­pound, ammonium bis­[salicyl­aldehyde thio­semi­car­ba­zon­ato(2−)-κ3O,N1,S]iron(III), NH4[Fe(C8H7N3OS)2], is reported. The asymmetric unit consists of an octa­hedral [FeIII(thsa)2]− fragment, where thsa2− is salicyl­aldehyde thio­semi­car­ba­zon­ate(2−), and an NH4+ cation. Each thsa2− ligand binds via the thiol­ate S, the imine N and the phenolate O donor atoms, resulting in an FeIIIS2N2O2 chromophore. The ligands are orientated in two perpendicular planes, with the O and S atoms in cis and the N atoms in trans positions. The FeIII ion is in the low-spin state at 100 K. The crystal structure belongs to a category I order–disorder (OD) family. It is a polytype of a maximum degree of order (MDO). Fragments of the second MDO polytype lead to systematic twinning by pseudomerohedry.