Crystal packing analysis of in situ cryocrystallized 2,2,2-trifluoroacetophenone

Abstract

Crystals of the liquid compound 2,2,2-trifluoroacetophenone (TFAP, C8H5F3O) were obtained using the state-of-art in situ cryocrystallization technique. TFAP crystallizes in the monoclinic space group C2/c, and its crystal structure is mainly stabilized by a set of C—H...F, C—H...O, F...F and F...O supramolecular contacts. The overall molecular arrangement shows the formation of molecular sheets parallel to the bc plane, which are in turn stacked along the a-axis direction. The weak interactions have been studied thoroughly, performing both a Hirshfeld surface analysis and theoretical calculations, to obtain the intermolecular interaction energies. A structural comparison of this compound with the previously reported substituted analogs was also carried out, showing a qualitative difference in terms of packing behaviour.