Structure and conformational analysis of a bidentate pro-ligand, C21H34N2S2, from powder synchrotron diffraction data and solid-state DFTB calculations

Abstract

The molecular and crystalline structure of ethyl 1′,2′,3′,4′,4a′,5′,6′,7′-octahydrodispiro[cyclohexane-1,2′-quinazoline-4′,1′′-cyclohexane]-8′-carbodithioate (I) was solved and refined from powder synchrotron X-ray diffraction data. The initial model for the structural solution in direct space using the simulated annealing algorithm implemented in DASH [David et al. (2006). J. Appl. Cryst. 39, 910–915] was obtained performing a conformational study on the fused six-membered rings of the octahydroquinazoline system and the two spiran cyclohexane rings of (I). The best model was chosen using experimental evidence from 1H and 13C NMR [Contreras et al. (2001). J. Heterocycl. Chem. 38, 1223–1225] in combination with semi-empirical AM1 calculations. In the refined structure the two spiran rings have the chair conformation, while both of the fused rings in the octahydroquinazoline system have half-chair conformations compared with in-vacuum density-functional theory (DFT) B3LYP/6-311G*, DFTB (density-functional tight-binding) theoretical calculations in the solid state and other related structures from X-ray diffraction data. Compound (I) presents weak intramolecular hydrogen bonds of the type N—H...S and C—H...S, which produce delocalization of the electron density in the generated rings described by graph symbols S(6) and S(5). Packing of the molecules is dominated by van der Waals interactions.