The
crystalline sponge method is a technique that provides the
ability to elucidate the absolute structure of noncrystalline or hard
to crystallize compounds through single-crystal X-ray diffraction
by removing the need to obtain crystals of the target compound. In
this study the crystalline sponges {[(ZnX
2
)
3
(2,4,6-tris(4-pyridyl)-1,3,5-trazine)
2
].
x
(solvent)}
n
(X = I, Br) were used to
obtain X-ray structures of the agrochemical active ingredients metalaxyl-M
and S-metolachlor. The effect of the temperature used during guest
uptake and the influence of changing the host framework ZnX
2
nodes on guest encapsulation were investigated. Additionally, three
compounds containing chemical fragments similar to those of metalaxyl-M
and S-metolachlor (phenylacetaldehyde,
N
-ethyl-
o
-toluidine, and methyl phenylacetate) were also encapsulated.
This allowed for the effect of guest size on the position that guests
occupy within the host frameworks to be examined. The disorder experienced
by the guest compounds was documented, and an analysis of the intermolecular
host–guest interactions (CH···π and π
···π) used for guest ordering within the host
frameworks was also undertaken in this study.