Exploring the persistence of the fluorinated thiolate 2,3,5,6-S(C6F4H-4) motif to establish πF-πF stacking in metal complexes: a crystal engineering perspective

π-π stacking interactions are versatile because they are involved in many processes, such as protein folding, DNA stacking, and drug recognition. However, from the point of view of crystal engineering, there is an incipient knowledge of its exploitation. A comparison of these interactions with hydrogen bonds shows a huge difference in their employment as a reliable non-covalent interaction. And different reasons can be listed to explain why hydrogen bonding can be considered a more robust interaction than π-π stacking. For instance, hydrogen bonds encompass a wide energy range (25-40 kJ mol-1). From this, these interactions can be classified as strong, moderate, and weak. Hence, the first two can be considered highly to moderately directional to be exploited in crystal engineering. This aspect is relevant for them to be used in a relatively reliably way in this area of supramolecular chemistry. On the other hand, in the case of π-π stacking, the energy range is 0-10 kJ mol-1, thus implying that hydrogen bonds or any other energetically more robust contact would predominate in the competition for establishing packing interactions in a given arrangement. In this sense, if stacking is pretended to be exploited from the point of view of crystal engineering, one of the points that must be ensured is that this interaction will be the one energetically predominant. However, although there are other factors to consider, it seems that energetics is the dominant one. In this line, our research group has obtained and studied many single-crystalline structures of coordination and organometallic compounds containing fluorinated thiolates. This being particularly true in the case of the thiolate 2,3,5,6-S(C6F4H-4) bound to different metals, where it has been observed that they preferentially tend to establish πF-πF stacking interactions, results that have been reported in several papers. Thus, from this perspective, we have explored, using ConQuest (CCDC) a number of structures to observe how feasible is to find stacking in coordination and organometallic compounds containing the thiolate 2,3,5,6-S(C6F4H-4).

Co-crystals of polyhalogenated diaminobenzonitriles with 18-crown-6: effect of fluorine on the stoichiometry and supramolecular structure

Fluorine in the ortho-position of diaminobenzonitrile promotes the formation of the N–H⋯NC bond which results in a 3D supramolecular structure of the co-crystal.

Directing the Crystal Packing in Triphenylphosphine Gold(I) Thiolates by Ligand Fluorination

We explore herein the supramolecular interactions that control the crystalline packing in a series of fluorothiolate triphenylphosphine gold(I) compounds with the general formula [Au(SR_F)(Ph₃P)] in which Ph₃P = triphenylphosphine and SR_F = SC₆F₅, SC₆HF₄-4, SC₆F₄(CF₃)-4, SC₆H₃F₂-2,4, SC₆H₃F₂-3,4, SC₆H₃F₂-3,5, SC₆H₄(CF₃)-2, SC₆H₄F-2, SC₆H₄F-3, SC₆H₄F-4, SCF₃, and SCH₂CF₃. We use for this purpose (i) DFT electronic structure calculations and (ii) the quantum theory of atoms in molecules and the non-covalent interactions index methods of wave function analyses. Our combined experimental and computational approach yields a general understanding of the effects of ligand fluorination in the crystalline self-assembly of the examined systems, in particular, about the relative force of aurophilic contacts compared with other supramolecular interactions. We expect this information to be useful in the design of materials based on gold coordination compounds.

Impact of molecular packing rearrangement on solid-state fluorescence: polyhalogenated N-hetarylamines vs. their co-crystals with 18-crown-6

Relationship between the hetarylamine chemical structure, crystal packing in homo- and co-crystals, and fluorescence effects (quenching, bathochromic and hypsochromic shifts).

Two cadmium(II) fluorous coordination compounds tuned by different bipyridines

Fluorine is the most electronegative element and can be used as an excellent hydrogen-bond acceptor. Fluorous coordination compounds exhibit several advantageous properties, such as enhanced high thermal and oxidative stability, low polarity, weak intermolecular interactions and a small surface tension compared to hydrocarbons. C-H...F-C interactions, although weak, play a significant role in regulating the arrangement of the organic molecules in the crystalline state and stabilizing the secondary structure. Two cadmium(II) fluorous coordination compounds formed from 2,2'-bipyridine, 4,4'-bipyridine and pentafluorobenzoate ligands, namely catena-poly[[aqua(2,2'-bipyridine-κ²N,N')(2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorobenzoato-κO)cadmium(II)]-μ-2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorobenzoato-κ²O:O'], [Cd(C₇F₅O₂)₂(C₁₀H₈N₂)(H₂O)]_n, (1), and catena-poly[[diaquabis(2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorobenzoato-κO)cadmium(II)]-μ-4,4'-bipyridine-κ²N:N'], [Cd(C₇F₅O₂)₂(C₁₀H₈N₂)(H₂O)₂]_n, (2), have been synthesized solvothermally and structurally characterized. Compound (1) shows a one-dimensional chain structure composed of Cd-O coordination bonds and is stabilized by π-π stacking and O-H...O hydrogen-bond interactions. Compound (2) displays a one-dimensional linear chain structure formed by Cd-N coordination interactions involving the 4,4'-bipyridine ligand. Adjacent one-dimensional chains are extended into two-dimensional sheets by O-H...O hydrogen bonds between the coordinated water molecules and adjacent carboxylate groups. Moreover, the chains are further linked by C-H...F-C interactions to afford a three-dimensional network. In both structures, hydrogen bonding involving the coordinated water molecules is a primary driving force in the formation of the supramolecular structures.