Supramolecular structures in N-isonicotinoyl arylaldehydehydrazones: multiple hydrogen-bonding modes in series of geometric isomers

Sixteen N-isonicotinoyl arylaldehydehydrazones, NC5H4CONHN = CHC6H4R, have been studied and the structures of 14 of them have been determined, including the unsubstituted parent compound with R = H, and the complete sets of 2-, 3- and 4-substituted geometric isomers for R = F, Br and OMe, and two of the three isomers for R = Cl and OEt. The 2- chloro and 3- chloro derivatives are isostructural with the corresponding bromo isomers, and all compounds contain trans amide groups apart from the isostructural pair where R = 2- Cl and 2- Br, which contain cis amide groups. The structures exhibit a wide range of direction-specific intermolecular interactions, including eight types of hydrogen bonds, N-H center dot center dot center dot N, N-H center dot center dot center dot O, O-H center dot center dot center dot O, O-H center dot center dot center dot N, C-H center dot center dot center dot N, C-H center dot center dot center dot O, C-H center dot center dot center dot pi(arene) and C-H center dot center dot center dot pi(pyridyl), as well as pi center dot center dot center dot pi stacking interactions. The structures exhibit a very broad range of combinations of these interactions: the resulting hydrogen-bonded supramolecular structures range from one-dimensional when R = 2- F, 2- OMe or 2-OEt, via two- dimensional when R = 4-F, 3-Cl, 3-Br, 4OMe or 3-OEt, to three-dimensional when R = H, 3-F, 2-Cl, 2Br, 4-Br or 3-OMe. Minor changes in either the identity of the substituent or its location can lead to substantial changes in the pattern of supramolecular aggregation, posing significant problems of predictability. The new structures are compared with the recently published structures of the isomeric series having R = NO2, with several monosubstituted analogues containing 2-pyridyl or 3-pyridyl units rather than 4-pyridyl, and with a number of examples having two or three substituents in the aryl ring: some 30 structures in all are discussed.