Structural motifs in secondary ammonium halides: ring-stacking and ring-laddering in the organic solid state

The ring-stacking and ring-laddering concepts of structural inorganic chemistry may be applied to rationalize motifs observed for secondary ammonium halides R(2)NH(2)X (X = Cl, Br) in the organic solid state. General examination of the directional preferences of N(+)...X(-) contacts in 166 crystal structures confirms that the shortest contacts (3.0-3.2 and 3.2-3.4 A, X = Cl, Br) are N(+)-H...X(-) hydrogen bonds lying approximately along the directions of the N(+)-H bond vectors. The next shortest N(+)...X(-) contacts display two preferred directions of approach: i) contacts in the distance range 3.2-3.5 (X = Cl) and 3.2-3.9 A (X = Br) lie close to the H-N(+)-H plane, along the direction of the bisector of the H-N(+)-H angle; ii) contacts in the distance range 4.0-4.2 (X = Cl) and 4.0-4.4 A (X = Br) lie close to the H-N(+)-H plane, along the direction of an axis extending to the rear of one of the N(+)-H bonds. Both directions of approach lead frequently to association of R(2)NH(2) (+)X(-) ion pairs into laddered motifs. Stacking association is also observed, giving rise in one case to discrete cubanes and in several other cases to extended stacked-cube arrangements. In each case, the distribution of N(+)...X(-) contacts reflects a balance between the directional properties of the N(+)-H...X(-) hydrogen bonds and (primarily steric) interactions between the R groups of the organic moieties. The ladder and stack motifs of the organic ammonium halides are in many cases directly comparable to those in alkali metal amides, [R(2)NM](n), and information derived from the extensive organic sample provides insight into the motifs adopted by the inorganic complexes.