Cocrystals of 6-propyl-2-thiouracil: N-H···O versus N-H···S hydrogen bonds

In order to investigate the relative stability of N-H···O and N-H···S hydrogen bonds, we cocrystallized the antithyroid drug 6-propyl-2-thiouracil with two complementary heterocycles. In the cocrystal pyrimidin-2-amine-6-propyl-2-thiouracil (1/2), C(4)H(5)N(3)·2C(7)H(10)N(2)OS, (I), the `base pair' is connected by one N-H···S and one N-H···N hydrogen bond. Homodimers of 6-propyl-2-thiouracil linked by two N-H···S hydrogen bonds are observed in the cocrystal N-(6-acetamidopyridin-2-yl)acetamide-6-propyl-2-thiouracil (1/2), C(9)H(11)N(3)O(2)·2C(7)H(10)N(2)OS, (II). The crystal structure of 6-propyl-2-thiouracil itself, C(7)H(10)N(2)OS, (III), is stabilized by pairwise N-H···O and N-H···S hydrogen bonds. In all three structures, N-H···S hydrogen bonds occur only within R(2)(2)(8) patterns, whereas N-H···O hydrogen bonds tend to connect the homo- and heterodimers into extended networks. In agreement with related structures, the hydrogen-bonding capability of C=O and C=S groups seems to be comparable.