Hirshfeld and DFT analysis of the N-heterocyclic carbene proligand methylenebis(N-butylimidazolium) as the acetonitrile-solvated diiodide salt

Abstract

N-Heterocyclic carbene (NHC) based systems are usually exploited in the exploration of catalytic mechanisms and processes in organocatalysis, and homo- and heterogeneous catalysis. However, their molecular structures have not received adequate attention. The NHC proligand methylenebis(N-butylimidazolium) has been synthesized as the acetonitrile solvate of the diiodide salt, C15H26N4(2+)·2I(-)·CH3CN [1,1'-methylenebis(3-butylimidazolium) diiodide acetonitrile monosolvate], and fully characterized. An interesting cation-anion connection pattern has been identified in the crystal lattice, in which three iodide anions interact simultaneously with the cisoid-oriented cation. A Hirshfeld surface analysis reveals the predominance of hydrogen bonding over anion-π interactions. This particular arrangement is observed in different methylene-bridged bis(imidazolium) cations bearing chloride or bromide counter-anions. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations with acetonitrile as solvent reproduce the geometry of the title cation.

From Imidazole toward Imidazolium Salts and N-Heterocyclic Carbene Ligands: Electronic and Geometrical Redistribution

“…1 (2). Compound 2 was obtained in an analogous manner to that described previously, 24 by adding diiodomethane (0.5 eq) to a solution of 1a in acetonitrile. After refluxing, and the addition of diethyl ether as a precipitating agent, compound 2 was isolated as a white solid.…”