A neutral cubane with a Zn^II 4O 4 core: tetra-benzoato-tetra- kis(3-hydroxydi-2-pyridylmethano-lato)tetra-zinc(II)-acetone-methanol (1/2/1)

In the title compound, [Zn₄ (C₁₁H₉N ₂O₂)4 (C₇H₅O₂)4] ·2(CH3)2CO·CH3OH, the tetra-nuclear mol-ecule lies on a fourfold inversion axis. Zn^II ions and 3-O atoms in the cubane core occupy alternating vertices, forming two inter-penetrating tetra-hedra. Each Zn ^II ion is further coordinated by two N atoms from two different (py)2C(OH)O ligands (py is pyrid-yl) and one O atom from a monodentate benzoate ligand, forming a distorted octa-hedral environment. The (py)2C(OH)O ligand acts in an ¹:³:¹:3 manner, forming two five-membered ZnNCCO chelating rings with two different Zn^II atoms sharing a common C - O bond, and an alkoxide-type bond to a third Zn ^II ion. There are four symmetry-related intra-molecular O - H⋯O hydrogen bonds between the two types of ligands. In the asymmetric unit, there is a half-occupancy acetone solvent mol-ecule and a half-occupancy methanol solvent molecule that lies on a twofold rotation axis.