Crystal structure, Hirshfeld surface analysis and DFT studies of 4-methyl-2-({[4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]imino}methyl)phenol

Abstract

The title compound, C15H12F3NO, crystallizes with one molecule in the asymmetric unit. The configuration of the C=N bond is E and there is an intramolecular O—H...N hydrogen bond present, forming an S(6) ring motif. The dihedral angle between the mean planes of the phenol and the 4-trifluoromethylphenyl rings is 44.77 (3)°. In the crystal, molecules are linked by C—H...O interactions, forming polymeric chains extending along the a-axis direction. The Hirshfeld surface analysis indicates that the most important contributions to the crystal packing are from C...H/H...C (29.2%), H...H (28.6%), F...H/H...F (25.6%), O...H/H...O (5.7%) and F...F (4.6%) interactions. The density functional theory (DFT) optimized structure at the B3LYP/6-311 G(d,p) level is compared with the experimentally determined molecular structure in the solid state. The HOMO–LUMO behaviour was elucidated to determine the energy gap. The crystal studied was refined as an inversion twin.