Lewis base adducts of Group 11 metal(I) compounds. Part 36. The synthesis and X-ray crystallographic characterisation of polymeric copper(I) iodide–benzonitrile (2/1)

Abstract

Recrystallisation of copper(I) iodide from benzonitrile yields not the 1 : 1 adduct as with the chloride and bromide, but a novel 2 : 1 adduct, [(CuI)₂(PhCN)], the nature of which has been established by single-crystal X-ray structure determination. Crystals are monoclinic, space group C2/c, a= 21.99(1), b= 15.109(6), c= 15.286(9)Å, β= 125.63(4)°, Z= 16, and R= 0.033 for 2 403 ‘observed’ reflections. The compound is a novel infinite polymer based on chiral, interlocking arrays of extended ‘step’ motifs.