1. Introduction
Various fields benefit from a diverse array of practical implementations of structures based on naphthalene [
1,
2]. Imine systems can also be utilized to assemble discrete cyclophanes, double and triple helicates, dimers, trimmers, and grids [
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8,
9,
10,
11,
12,
13]. One of the factors, which could affect these structure properties can be short contact. The formation of three-dimensional structures in biological and chemical systems relies heavily on short-range interactions, which can also aid in the creation of new materials with beneficial properties [
14,
15,
16,
17]. The other importance of short contacts is that these contacts a considerable impact on the physical and chemical properties of a compound, including its melting point, boiling point, and reactivity [
18]. The study of short contacts in organic structures has gained increasing attention in recent years. This interest has been driven by advances in computational chemistry, which have made it possible to study the properties and behavior of organic compounds at the molecular level. Here we synthesized and characterized a structure that has two parallel pyridylimine binding units on both sides. These kinds of structures, which look rigid, can support grid structures such as Oborn and Youinou [
19] or Lehn [
20]. A similar structure on both sides of naphthalene has been observed in the works of other researchers, such as Piontek [
21]. In this article, we will explore the synthesis, characterization, and DFT calculation of naphthalene-based crystal structures with pyridylimine-binding units.
3. Results and Discussion
X-ray diffraction analysis was used to determine the structure of the ligand, revealing that it has a symmetrical structure with naphthalene in the center and two pyridines on the sides and belongs to the P2
1/c space group in a monoclinic system. C (7) on naphthalene and N (2) on the sides, connected naphthalene and pyridine with bond length 1.418 (2) to form a molecule structure (
Figure 3a).
Figure 3b depicts the unit cell packing. The multi-layer structure shows empty spaces in the unit cell in
Figure 3b. Another structure,
Figure 3c, is created by the direct growth of the compound structure and bears a striking resemblance to the Z shape when viewed from a specific orientation.
Figure 3: The molecular structure: (a) The molecular structure (50% probability); (b) Unit cell packing; (c) The Z shape structure.
The bond between C (5) and C (6) has the longest bond length at 1.470 (2) Å. N (2) is bonded to C (7) on one side and C (6) on the other, with bonding distances of 1.418 (2) Å and 1.272 (2) Å, respectively. Additionally, the bond between N (2) and C (6) on both sides is the shortest non-hydrogen ligand bond.
The nitrogen and carbon bonds mentioned have slight differences compared to other nitrogen (N (1)) and carbon bonds within the ligand. At the ligand ends, we find N (1)-C (1) and N (1)-C (5), which measure 1.338 (2) Å and 1.348 (2) Å, respectively. The title compound molecule has a linker section (C (7)-N (2)-C (6)-C (5)) with an angle of −178.12° (15). There are no hydrogen bonding interactions present in the structure. The structure shown in
Figure 4 is a result of the short contacts caused by C (6) and C (8), which attract neighboring molecules.
Computational studies with Gaussian were conducted in this research, and
Table 7 provides a summary of the ligand calculation obtained in the 6-311+(2d, p) basis set. The results suggest that the molecule is nonpolar or only slightly polar, which is supported by the very small dipole moment of 0.000039 D. This value indicates that there is minimal charge separation within the molecule. These findings align with previous discussions.
The charge distribution on the molecule in
Figure 5 is symmetrical, and the level of polarity is low.
Figure 6 displays the structures of HOMO and LUMO, with E
HOMO and E
LUMO values of 0.20847 (eV) and 0.08374 (eV), respectively. To investigate noncovalent interactions in the solid state, we utilized Hirshfeld Surfaces analysis on the ligand.
Figure 7 displays all the Hirshfeld properties. When the contact distance between atoms inside and outside the surface is greater than the sum of their respective van der Waals radii, the areas in blue on the d
norm property are indicated. The d
norm property has white areas that correspond to a contact distance equal to the sum of the van der Waals radii, and small amounts of red areas where the contact distance between atoms inside and outside the surface is less than the sum of their respective van der Waals radii [
29].
The red areas on the plot represent non-covalent regions, and they are primarily located on the C6 and C8 atoms, which we identified in
Figure 4 as being associated with these interactions.
Figure 8 displays the fingerprint plot, which provides a visual representation of the interactions involved and their respective percentage contributions to the total interactions.
According to
Figure 8, the primary interaction throughout the surface is dispersion forces (H···H), which account for over 45% of the total interactions. The combined percentage of H and C in the structure is 29.2%, which includes contributions from both H(i)···C(e) and C(i)···H(e) interactions. Additionally, the total contribution of N and H is 14.6%. Therefore, carbon and hydrogen, with a contribution of 29.2%, along with the C8 and C6 interaction and dispersion forces (H···H), as depicted in
Figure 9, are the forces that govern the stacking arrangement of the ligand molecules.
The ligand being discussed can potentially form coordination complexes with multiple metals. Some of the metals that have been utilized to create coordination complexes with Schiff base ligands, which have structural similarities to our synthesized ligand, are Co (II), Ni (II), Cu (II), Zn (II), gold (III), and copper (II) [
30,
31,
32,
33]. Furthermore, the ligand has the potential to create coordination complexes with other transition metals, including Pd (II) [
34]. The coordination geometry of metal complexes may differ based on the specific metal involved, although octahedral coordination is preferred for certain metals [
30]. The crystal structures of metal complexes may differ based on the metal used and the coordination geometry formed. As an example, in a previous study [
31], the author reported on gold (III) complexes with 1,1-dimethylbiguanide. In this case, the gold atom is coordinated by two chloride ligands and two nitrogen atoms from the biguanide ligand, resulting in a square planar coordination geometry.
4. Conclusions
In conclusion, we successfully synthesized and characterized a symmetrical ligand, N, N′-(naphthalene-1,5-diyl) bis(1-(pyridin-2-yl) methanimine), through refluxing 1,6-diaminonaphthalene and pyridine-2-carbaldehyde in extra-pure ethanol. The ligand was found to have a structure containing central naphthalene and two parallel parts on the sides, with two pyridylimine-binding units connected to a 1,5-naphthalene structure. The structure was confirmed through infrared examination, and computational spectroscopy and theoretical methods were used to show the ligand HOMO, LUMO, and charge distribution. Additionally, we conducted a Hirshfeld analysis and demonstrated all of its properties. Our findings suggest that dispersion forces (H···H) were the primary factor contributing to the arrangement of the ligand molecule, accounting for 45.3% of the total interactions in the absence of hydrogen bonding.