Binary supramolecular adduct based upon trimeric perfluoro-ortho-phenylenemercury and 4-chlorobenzaldehyde: Enumerating the strength of perfluorophenyl–perfluorophenyl interactions

• Molecular complex containing trimeric perfluoro-ortho-phenylenemercury and 4-chlorobenzaldehyde was realized.
• Perfluorophenyl–perfluorophenyl interaction energies were determined by Density Functional Theory.
• X-ray diffraction and IR spectroscopy was used to investigate the molecular complex.

Due to its proximity of Hg(II) atoms, electron-withdrawing properties and inherent accessibility to electrophilic sites on the molecular surface, trimeric perfluoro-ortho-phenylenemercury, (o-C6F4Hg)3, has demonstrated a capacity to form supramolecular adducts with a variety of neutral and anionic substrates. Often within these complexes the Lewis acid, (o-C6F4Hg)3, interacts with a Lewis base rather than itself in the solid state via various supramolecular interactions. Among these, perfluorophenyl–perfluorophenyl interactions have been utilized in the construction of various supramolecular materials; however, within these molecular complexes, this category of non-covalent interaction is not often observed. Even though these perfluorophenyl–perfluorophenyl interactions have been used to produce new materials, their overall strength has not been generally reported in the literature. In this contribution, we highlight not only the synthesis, structural and spectroscopic properties of a novel binary supramolecular adduct between (o-C6F4Hg)3 and 4-chlorobenzaldehyde (4-ClBA) [(o-C6F4Hg)3(4-ClBA)] 1, but also report on the overall strength of the perfluorophenyl–perfluorophenyl interaction energies determined by means of computational chemistry. The carbonyl group of the 4-ClBA substrate was found to interact with all three mercury atoms within (o-C6F4Hg)3 via Hg⋯O contacts. An infrared spectroscopic analysis of 1 demonstrated a lower wavenumber for the carbonyl stretching frequency when compared to that for the free substrate confirming the presence of these Hg⋯O interactions.

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