A binuclear cobalt(II) complex of an NO(3)-donor Schiff base derived from 3-carboxyl­salicylaldehyde and 2-nitro­aniline

In the crystal structure of the centrosymmetric title complex, bis­{μ-3-[(2-nitro­phen­yl)imino­meth­yl]-2-oxidobenzoato}dicobalt(II), [Co(2)(C(14)H(8)N(2)O(5))(2)], in which the ligand is 3-[(2-nitro­phen­yl)imino­meth­yl]-2-oxidobenzoate, a Schiff base synthesized from 2-nitro­aniline with 3-carboxyl­salicyl­aldehyde, the two cobalt(II) ions in the mol­ecular unit are bridged by two phenolate O atoms of the ligands. Each metal centre has a distorted square-planar geometry. In the crystal structure, mol­ecules are linked by Co⋯O inter­actions involving the nitro O atoms, forming a two-dimensional network. There are also C—H⋯O and π–π stacking inter­actions [centroid–centroid distances of 3.5004 (2), 3.6671 (2) and 3.6677 (2) Å] between adjacent benzene rings of the two-dimensional networks, leading to the formation of a three-dimensional framework.