Anion mediated structural motifs in silver(i) complexes with corannulene

Abstract

The synthesis of three new silver(I) complexes with corannulene is reported. In the crystal these complexes form extended networks of Ag⁺ ions, corannulene nuclei, and counterions, similar to the networks reported for Ag⁺ with other polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The preferred Ag⁺–arene interaction is compared with the model developed by Kochi. The crystal motifs can be described by a classification scheme analogous to that developed by Etter for hydrogen-bonded networks in solids. The effect of counterion variation (ClO₄⁻, O₃SCF₃⁻, BF₄⁻) is noted to be substantial. Thus, although one can categorize the various networks, it is hard to predict an expected packing pattern on the basis of preferred binding in the metal/organic complex alone.