A systematic study of the interplay between guest molecule structure and intermolecular interactions in crystalline sponges.

Utilization of the crystalline sponge {[(ZnI 2 ) 3 (tpt) 2 ·x(solvent)] n } method has enabled characterization of a novel family of synthetic organic oils. The systematic structural differences and diversity of functional groups offered by 13 related molecular adsorbates provide a detailed quantitative understanding of the relationship between the guest structure, its conformation, and the type of intermolecular interactions adopted with neighbouring guests and the host framework. This analysis is extended to assess the connection of these factors to the resulting quality indicators for a particular molecular structure elucidation.