Honeycomb molecular network based upon a hydrate of 4,6-dichlororesorcinol and the photoproduct rtct-tetrakis(pyridin-4-yl)cyclobutane.

The formation of a self-interpenetrated honeycomb molecular network based upon 4,6-dichlororesorcinol (4,6-diCl res), a water molecule, and the photoproduct rtct-tetrakis(pyridin-4-yl)cyclobutane (rtct-TPCB) is reported. Interestingly, only three of the four pyridine rings on the central cyclobutane ring are found to engage in O-H...N hydrogen bonds with either the 4,6-diCl res or an included water molecule, resulting in a three-connected net. Notably, the solid (4,6-diCl res)·(rtct-TPCB)·(H2O), C6H4Cl2O2·C24H20N4·H2O, contains channels that run along the crystallographic b axis, which are found to be interpenetrated. Although rtct-TPCB has been employed as a bridging ligand in the formation of numerous metal-organic materials, surprisingly neither the single-component X-ray structure nor any multi-component molecular solids based upon this stereoisomer have been reported previously. Lastly, the single-crystal X-ray structure of the photoproduct rtct-TPCB is also reported.