Tridentate pyridazine ligands with two different substituents at the 3-and 6-positions (pyridyl hydrazone at the 3-position and tolyl 3 tol or tert-butyl 3 tBu at the 6-position) were prepared in high yields from 3,6-disubstituted pyridazine hydrazines and pyridine aldehyde by Schiff base condensation. This provides a facile entry into a novel class of heterocyclic molecules exhibiting interesting coordinating abilities. They react with first-row transition metal nitrates to yield complexes of the type [ tol form complexes of the ML 2 type, whereas with ligand 3 tBu exclusively complexes of the ML type are formed,