Crystal structure of bis­(4-nitro­aniline-κN (1))(5,10,15,20-tetra­phenyl­por­phy­rin­ato-κ(4) N)cobalt(III) chloride di­chloro­methane monosolvate

The reaction of [Co(III)(TPP)Cl] (TPP is the dianion of 5,10,15,20-tetra­phenyl­porphyrin) with an excess of 4-nitro­aniline in di­chloro­methane leads to the title compound, [Co(III)(C(44)H(28)N(4))(C(6)H(6)N(2)O(2))(2)]Cl·CH(2)Cl(2). The Co(III) ion lies on an inversion centre and is octa­hedrally coordinated by two N atoms of the NH(2) groups of the two 4-nitro­aniline trans-axial ligands and four pyrrole N atoms of the porphyrin. The asymmetric unit contains one half of the [Co(III)(TPP)(4-nitro­aniline)(2)](+) ion complex, one chloride counter-ion (lying on a twofold rotation axis) and one half di­chloro­methane solvent mol­ecule, where the C atom lies on a twofold rotation axis. The average equatorial Co—N(pyrrole) distance (Co—Np) is 1.982 (2) Å and the axial Co—N(4-nitro­aniline) bond length is 2.006 (2) Å. The crystal packing is stabilized by an N—H⋯Cl hydrogen bond between the N atom of the amino group of the 4-nitro­aniline axial ligand and the chloride counter-ion. The supra­molecular architecture is further stabilized by weak C—H⋯π inter­actions.