A R T I C L E S
Dey et al.
Results and Discussion
However, even from among such possibilities, some interactions
are preferred. A CSD analysis of 64 aminols showed that
63 have O-H‚‚‚N hydrogen bonds (version 5.25, including
April 2004 updates).24 Of these, 55 have N-H‚‚‚O hydrogen
bonds; in the remaining 9 all but one have a N-H‚‚‚π hydrogen
bridge.25 Only 10 have an O-H‚‚‚O bond and only 4 have an
N-H‚‚‚N, this too only if there are multiple OH or NH2 groups
present. All this indicates that the O-H‚‚‚N hydrogen bond
is the most readily formed interaction in this family.26 An
N-H‚‚‚O hydrogen bond will then be facilitated by cooperat-
ivity. Accordingly, in 11 of the 13 aminols in our database these
two types of hydrogen bond form an infinite cooperative chain
O-H‚‚‚N-H‚‚‚O-H (synthon I). In the two other compounds,
the cooperative arrangement of O-H‚‚‚N and N-H‚‚‚O bonds
remains but the interactions form a closed loop, which we term
a square motif (synthon II). In these two compounds which
use synthon II to the exclusion of synthon I (2c, 3a), the four
aromatic rings surround the square motif, an arrangement that
better accommodates the methyl substituents (Figure 1). Similar
steric considerations lead to a square motif structure for the two
compounds that use synthon II along with I (4a, 4b).27 Synthons
I and II occurring in isolation or together constitute the simplest
and smallest recognition units for the supraminols, 1, and we
term them as small synthons. The presence of either or both
these synthons is almost compulsory within this family.
The synthon is a kinetic entity, and while we have no evidence
that these small synthons exist in solution for the aminols, recent
work from our group and elsewhere provide convincing
evidence for the existence of synthons in solution prior to
crystallization.28 Indeed, an implicit assumption in this entire
exercise is that the supramolecular synthon is important in all
stages of crystallization. Identification of synthons in solution
is difficult: each of the two examples cited above are very
special cases, but with more examples likely soon, the funda-
mental basis for synthon based CSP can only become better
established.
With the crystal structures of the 13 training molecules in
hand, the next step is their packing analysis. The structural
chemistry of the aminols has progressed in three distinct stages.
A decade ago, Ermer and Eling showed that complementarity
of O-H‚‚‚N and N-H‚‚‚O interactions leads to a saturation of
hydrogen bonding potential of the OH and NH2 functionalities
in aminol 4 and related compounds.20 Simultaneously and
independently, Hanessian described similar recognition schemes
in molecular complexes of diaminocyclohexanes and cyclohex-
ane diols (supraminols).21 A few years later, we showed that
the packing of aminols 2 and 3 cannot be explained similarly
and that the N-H‚‚‚π interactions in these structures occur
because of the need to optimize herringbone interactions.22 This
is an example of interaction interference. The levels of
complexity (interference between functional groups) were even
higher in our more recent study of homologated aminophenols
wherein phenyl rings bearing an OH and an NH2 substituent
respectively are separated by polymethylene chains of differing
lengths.23 Here, we showed that while 2, 3, and 4 are distinct
prototype structures, they have some commonalities at the
synthon level. The addition of a Me-substituent at various
positions on the aromatic ring further increases the levels of
difficulty in rationalizing and predicting crystal structures in
this family. This is because the supramolecular behavior of a
particular functional group in a molecule depends on its nature
and position and also on the nature and position of all other
functional groups, with the added stipulation that all portions
of a molecule including the hydrocarbon residues have su-
pramolecular functionality.9 Simplification of the resulting
structural complexity through the identification of a few
supramolecular synthons is therefore advantageous. In this
context, it is very significant that we determined the crystal
structures of all 10 isomeric methylaminophenols. This ensures
that all reasonable schemes of molecular recognition that involve
the OH, NH2, CH3, and Ph functionalities together are included,
to the maximum extent possible, in our training database.
Packing Description. Although the aminols in this study are
small and rigid, they display a variety of packing modes because
of the high ratio of functional groups to carbon skeleton. In
general, CSP of any trisubstituted benzene with three different
substituents is of moderate to high difficulty.11a Our analysis
of the packing of the 10 methylaminophenols and the 3
prototype compounds progresses from functional groups f
interactions f small synthons f large synthons f crystal
structure.
An alternative arrangement of N-H‚‚‚O and O-H‚‚‚N bonds
gives the cyclohexane type synthon III which forms a part
of the â-As network20 with its nearly tetrahedral arrangement
of the bonds around the O- and N-atoms. This is seen only
in 4. Between parallel hydrogen bonded networks are the
connector phenyl rings that form a herringbone arrangement
with C-H‚‚‚O and C-H‚‚‚π hydrogen bridges. We have
(24) (a) Allen, F. H.; Kennard, O. Chem. Des. Automat. News 1993, 8, 31. (b)
Allen, F. H.; Motherwell, W. D. S.; Raithby, P. R.; Shields, G. P.; Taylor,
R. New J. Chem. 1999, 23, 25. (c) Allen, F. H. Acta Crystallogr. 2002,
B58, 380. (d) Nangia, A. CrystEngComm 2002, 4, 93.
(25) Desiraju, G. R. Acc. Chem. Res. 2002, 35, 565.
(26) Selected references that describe the structural chemistry of supraminols
include: (a) Liminga, R.; Olovsson, I. Acta Crystallogr. 1951, 4, 100. (b)
Liminga, R. Acta Chem. Scand. 1967, 21, 1206. (c) Loehlin, J. H.; Etter,
M. C.; Gendreau, C.; Cervasio, E. Chem. Mater. 1994, 6, 1218. (d) Toda,
F.; Hyoda, S.; Okada, K.; Hirotsu. K. J. Chem. Soc., Chem. Commun. 1995,
1531. (e) Loehlin, J. H.; Franz, K. J.; Gist, L.; Moore, R. H. Acta
Crystallogr. 1998, B54, 695. (f) Roelens, S.; Dapporto, P.; Paoli, P. Can.
J. Chem. 2000, 78, 723. (g) O’Leary, B.; Spalding, T. R.; Ferguson, G.;
Glidewell, C. Acta Crystallogr. 2000, B56, 273. (h) Dapporto, P.; Paoli,
P.; Roelens, S. J. Org. Chem. 2001, 66, 4930. (i) Lewinski, J.; Zachara, J.;
Kopec, T.; Starawiesky, B. K.; Lipkowski, J.; Justyniak, I.; Kolodziejczyk,
E. Eur. J. Inorg. Chem. 2001, 5, 1123. (j) Vangala, V. R.; Mondal, R.;
Broder, C. K.; Howard, J. A. K.; Desiraju, G. R. Cryst. Growth Des. 2004,
5, 99. (k) Dey, A.; Desiraju, G. R.; Mondal, R.; Howard, J. A. K. Chem.
Commun. 2004, 2528.
(27) The square motifs may be isolated or connected with additional hydrogen
bonds to form ladders. See Bhogala, B. R.; Vangala, V. R.; Smith, P. S.;
Howard, J. A. K.; Desiraju, G. R. Cryst. Growth Des. 2004, 4, 647.
(28) (a) Parveen, S.; Davey, R. J.; Dent, G.; Pritchard, R. G. Chem. Commun.
2005, 1531. (b) Banerjee, R.; Bhatt. P. M.; Kirchner, M. T.; Desiraju, G.
R. Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 2005, 44, 2515.
Hydrogen bonding is the major interaction type, and the
hydrogen bonds may be classified as strong or weak; those
involving only O- and N-atoms as donors and/or acceptors are
better from both kinetic and thermodynamic viewpoints, owing
respectively to their long-range nature and their strength.
(18) The crystal structure of aminol 2b has been determined earlier; see:
Kashino, S.; Tomita, M.; Haisa, M. Acta Crystallogr. 1988, C44, 730.
(19) SHELXTL, version 5.1; Bruker AXS Inc.: Madison, WI, 2001.
(20) Ermer, O.; Eling, A. J. Chem. Soc., Perkin Trans. 2 1994, 925.
(21) Hanessian, S.; Saladino, R. In Crystal Design. Structure and Function;
Desiraju, G. R., Ed.; Perspectives in Supramolecular Chemistry; Wiley:
New York, 2003; Vol. 7, pp 77-151.
(22) Allen, F. H.; Hoy, V. J.; Howard, J. A. K.; Thalladi, V. R.; Desiraju, G.
R.; Wilson, C. C.; McIntyre, G. J. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1997, 119, 3477.
(23) Vangala, V. R.; Bhogala, B. R.; Dey, A.; Desiraju, G. R.; Broder, C. K.;
Smith, P. S.; Mondal, R.; Howard, J. A. K.; Wilson, C. C. J. Am. Chem.
Soc. 2003, 125, 14495.
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