Acesulfamate / N,N 0 -dimethylethylenediamine / Mass spectrometry / Thermal analysis / Single crystal structure analysis / X-ray diffractionAbstract. The complex [Cu(C 4 H 12 N 2 ) 2 (H 2 O) 2 ] 2þ [(C 4 H 4 NO 4 S) À ] 2 , which is the first structurally characterized complex with acesulfamate as the counter anion, has been synthesized and characterized by elemental analyses, magnetic and conductivity measurements, UV/vis, FT-IR and mass spectra. The thermal behaviour of the complexes was studied by simultaneous TG, DTG and DTA methods in a static air atmosphere. In the crystal structure, the copper cation, lying on a crystallographic centre of symmetry, adopts an elongated octahedral trans-[CuN 4 O 2 ] coordination geometry, with long axial Cu--O(aqua) bond length and short equatorial Cu--N bonds, of 2.479(2), 2.035(2) and 2.051(2) A, respectively. The coordinated water molecules together with the amine part of the dimethylethylenediamine molecule link the acesulfamate ions to the metal complex via intermolecular hydrogen bonds.