In this work, an approach is proposed for understanding the crystal arrangements of organic compounds.

The supramolecular structure of 3-amino-4-halo-5-methylisoxazoles (halo = Cl, Br, and I) was investigated in order to suggest a route for crystallization of small molecules. The hierarchy of intermolecular interactions during the growth of the crystal was established by X-ray diffraction, ¹H NMR titration, QTAIM analysis and quantum mechanical calculations. The relationship between QTAIM and energetic data was the fundamental innovation in this work. It allowed partitioning of the dimer interaction energy between interacting atoms. The partitioning shows the cooperation of the intermolecular interactions in the stabilization of the dimers and led to observation of the energetic consequences that small changes in the molecular structure of each compound may have on the crystal packing. The proposed route for the crystallization of the supramolecular cluster was based on the energetic hierarchy, in which the hydrogen bond is the strongest interaction and the first to form, and the π-interactions are weaker than the hydrogen bond and cannot compete with it. However, the π-interactions are responsible for the growth of the crystal, connecting the rising layers of the hydrogen bond dimers. The other interaction formed, the halogen bond, is too weak to compete with the other two interactions, but it is fundamental for linking the layer that leads to the final three-dimensional arrangement. Finally, a new way of understanding the crystallization process and the design of new materials is presented.

The crystal structures of dicationic ILs [DBMIM][2BF₄] (1) and [DBMIM][2Br]·[2H₂O] (2) were investigated in order to explore the intermolecular interactions in these compounds. An energetic and topological approach for characterization of supramolecular clusters in organic crystals was used. The study of the crystals was done by considering the stabilization energy and topological properties such as contact surfaces and energy content between cations and neighboring anions (supramolecular clusters). The study showed that: 1 is auto-organized into layers (one-dimensional structure) by an anion–cation interaction (weak electrostatic and ionic), and the three-dimensional supramolecular structure of 2 is constructed through simultaneous interactions between cations, anions, and water molecules. This network results in interaction chains in two different directions. Additionally, the supramolecular cluster approach allowed evaluation of the participation of the topological component during the formation of the crystals of 1 and 2. Among the different types of interactions proposed, the most predominant was the one classified as type III, which has small and medium energy values, and a medium-sized contact surface. The thermal and morphological properties were also studied to further characterize these materials and to better understand the resulting structure–property relationships.

The synthesis, crystallization, and theoretical calculations (energetic dimers and QTAIM analyses) of three polymorphs of 3,12-dihydrotetrabenzo[d,h,m,q]-[1–3, 10–12]hexaazacyclooctadeca-1,10-dien-5,14-diyne are reported. The supramolecular cluster approach is proposed for understanding the formation and stabilization of crystal arrangements of the polymorphs. The results show that the π⋯π-interactions were responsible for the crystal packing of the three polymorphs and that they are in a determined energetic region. The energetic difference between the more stable and less stable polymorphs is around 8 kcal mol⁻¹, indicating that if, probably other polymorphs will be formed, all of them will be in the same energetic region. The results confirmed that the first molecular coordination sphere (supramolecular cluster) is the smallest portion of the crystal that represents all necessary energy information for understanding the intermolecular interactions in the entire crystal.

This paper presents a series of six examples of 1,1-difluoro-3-aryl(heteroaryl)-1H-pyrido[1,2-c][1,3,5,2]oxadiazaborinin-9-ium-1-uides (2)—in which aryl(heteroaryl) = phenyl, 4-MeC₆H₄, 4-N(CH₃)₂C₆H₄, 4-NO₂C₆H₄, 2-naphthyl, and 2-thienyl—as pyridine-based boron heterocycles with variable ligand structures. The heterocycles 2 were easily synthesized at yields of 51–70% from reactions—at room temperature for 24 h—of simple N-(pyridin-2-yl)benzamides (1) with BF₃·Et₂O, and they were fully characterized by ¹H-, ¹³C-, ¹⁹F-, and ¹¹B-NMR spectroscopy, GC-MS, and X-ray diffractometry. The optical and electrochemical properties of 2 (UV-vis spectra, fluorescence spectra, quantum yield calculations, Stokes’ shifts, redox potentials, and DFT calculations) were determined and discussed. BSA-binding experiments and molecular docking studies of new complexes 2 were performed and correlated between each other.