A half-sandwich Ta V dichlorido complex containing an O,N,O 0 0 0 -tridentate Schiff base ligand: synthesis, crystal structure and in vitro cytotoxicity A new electroneutral half-sandwich tantalum(V) dichlorido complex containing pentamethylcyclopentadienyl (Cp*) and the double-deprotonated version of the Schiff base 2-ethoxy-6-, has been prepared and thoroughly characterized by elemental analysis, IR and NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, density functional theory (DFT) calculations and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The molecular structure revealed that the Ta V centre is coordinated by a 5 -Cp* ligand, two monodentate chlorido ligands and one O,N,O 0tridentate L 2À ligand. The crystal structure is stabilized by C-HÁ Á ÁC, C-HÁ Á ÁCl and CÁ Á ÁC intermolecular interactions. Moreover, the complex shows notable in vitro cytotoxicity against the A2780 human ovarian carcinoma cell line, with IC 50 = 14.4 mM, which is higher than that of the conventional platinumbased anticancer drug cisplatin (IC 50 = 20.1 mM). research papers Acta Cryst. (2019). C75, 248-254 Trávníček et al. A half-sandwich Ta V dichlorido complex 249 research papers 250 Trávníček et al. A half-sandwich Ta V dichlorido complex Acta Cryst. (2019). C75, 248-254 research papers Acta Cryst. (2019). C75, 248-254 Trávníček et al. A half-sandwich Ta V dichlorido complex 253