Halo-PFCs

The remarkable strength of some XBs allows them to prevail over HBs in identifying the modules to be involved in self-assembly. For instance, in experiments of competitive co-crystal formation, a dipyridyl derivative prefers to co-crystallize with XB donors rather than HB donors and the same occurs for NjNjN jN -lclramclhylclhylcncdiaminc (TMEDA) [36]. In solution, solute-solute intermolecular HBs are considerably diminished if a strong XB donor co-solute is added. If haloperfluorocarbons (halo-PFCs) are used, the HB breaking potency increases moving from perfluorocarbons to chloro-, bromo-, and iodoperfluorocarbons [37-43], perfectly consistent with the order of the increasing XB donor ability of the halo-PFCs co-solutes, hi aque-... 

Both theoretical and experimental data (in the solid, liquid, and gas phases) prove that the tendency of halocarbons to work as XB donors decreases in the order I > Br > Cl [66-68]. Clearly, polarizability and not electronegativity plays a key role. 3-Halo-cyanoacetylene works as self-complementary module and the N X distance is beautifully consistent with the scale reported above, being 2.932, 2.978 and 2.984 A in the iodo, bromo and chloro derivatives, respectively [69,70]. The same trend is observed when a phenyl, rather than a triple bond, spaces the donor and acceptor sites. The N Br distance in 4-bromobenzonitrile is longer than in the 4-iodo derivative [71,72] and no XB is present in the chloro and fluoro analogues, wherein molecules are pinned by N H and X- H short contacts [73]. PFCs have a very poor tendency, if any, to work as XB donors [74-77] and no crystal engineering can be based on such tectons. However, F2 is a quite strong XB donor and several adducts have been described in the gas phase [11,18] (see also the chapter by Legon in this volume). 

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