Volume 211, 2018

Towards the systematic crystallisation of molecular ionic cocrystals: insights from computed crystal form landscapes

Abstract

The underlying molecular and crystal properties affecting the crystallisation of ionic cocrystals (ICCs) with the general formula AB+N (A = anion, B+ = cation and N = neutral acid molecule; 1 : 1 : 1 stoichiometry) are reported for a limited set of known crystal structures determined following the cocrystallisation of either 4-aminopyridine (which forms salts) or 4-dimethylaminopyridine (which forms salts and ICCs) with the same set of monoprotic acids with a single hydroxy or halogen substitution at the ortho or para position. Periodic density functional theory calculations (PBE + D2) on the energetic driving force for ICC crystallisation for a set of known crystal structures with well characterised acid, salt and ICC structures show that all but 1 of the 7 experimental ICC structures surveyed were more stable than the sum of their component salt and acid structures with 4 displaying relative stabilities (ΔEICC) ranging from 2.47–8.02 kJ mol−1. The majority of molecular ICCs that are more stable with respect to their component salt and acid structures display the formation of discrete intermolecular O–Hacid⋯Oanion hydrogen bonds with the D11(2) graph set between the carboxylic acid OH donor and the carboxylate oxygen acceptor of the anion. Computed crystal form landscapes for model 1 : 1 salts derived from acid–base pairs (involving 4-dimethylaminopyridine) known to form molecular ICCs show that on average the most stable predicted polymorphs of the 1 : 1 salts have efficient packing of the ions with packing coefficients in the range 65–80% and this is comparable to the packing coefficients of the most stable predicted polymorphs of 1 : 1 salts (involving 4-aminopyridine) that have no ICCs reported. This suggests that the cocrystallisation of equimolar amounts of the 1 : 1 salt and the acid to form a 1 : 1 : 1 molecular ICC is a complicated phenomenon that cannot be explained on the basis of inefficiencies in the crystal packing of the salt ions.

Graphical abstract: Towards the systematic crystallisation of molecular ionic cocrystals: insights from computed crystal form landscapes

Associated articles

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
18 Feb 2018
Accepted
20 Mar 2018
First published
26 Mar 2018

Faraday Discuss., 2018,211, 401-424

Towards the systematic crystallisation of molecular ionic cocrystals: insights from computed crystal form landscapes

S. Mohamed, A. A. Alwan, T. Friščić, A. J. Morris and M. Arhangelskis, Faraday Discuss., 2018, 211, 401 DOI: 10.1039/C8FD00036K

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