Non-covalent bonded 2D–3D supramolecular architectures based on 4-dimethylaminopyridine and organic acids

• Eight organic salts have been prepared and structurally characterized.
• The hydrogen bonds of the 4-dimethylaminopyridine and organic acids have been ascertained.
• The classical hydrogen bonds are the primary forces in these salts.
• The secondary nonbonding interactions also play important role in structure propagation.

Studies concentrating on non-covalent weak interactions between the organic base of 4-dimethylaminopyridine, and acidic derivatives have led to an increased understanding of the role 4-dimethylaminopyridine has in binding with the organic acid derivatives. Here anhydrous and hydrous multicomponent organic acid–base adducts of 4-dimethylaminopyridine have been prepared with organic acids such as 1,3-benzodioxole-5-carboxylic acid, p-aminobenzoic acid, 2,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid, 3,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid, 5-chlorosalicylic acid, 5-bromosalicylic acid, 5-nitrosalicylic acid, and 5-sulfosalicylic acid. The 4-dimethylaminopyridine is only monoprotonated. All compounds are organic salts with the 1:1 ratio of the cation and the anion. For the 5-sulfosalicylic acid only one H is ionized to exhibit the valence number of −1.The eight crystalline complexes were characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis, IR, mp, and elemental analysis. These structures adopted the hetero supramolecular synthons. Analysis of the crystal packing of 1–8 suggests that there are NH⋯O, OH⋯O, and OH⋯S hydrogen bonds (charge assisted or neutral) between the organic acid and the 4-dimethylaminopyridine moieties in the studied compounds. Except the classical hydrogen bonding interactions, the secondary propagating interactions also play important roles in structure extension. For the synergistic effect of the various non-covalent interactions, the complexes displayed 2D–3D framework structures.