Effect of conjugated system extension on structural features and electron-density distribution in charge–transfer difluoroborates

Abstract

A comparative structural study of two related donor–acceptor pyridine-based BF2 complexes, namely, 3-(dimethylamino)-1,1-difluoro-1H-pyrido[1,2-c][1,3,5,2]oxadiazaborinin-9-ium-1-uide, C8H10BF2N3O (1), and 3-{(1E,3E)-4-[4-(dimethylamino)phenyl]buta-1,3-dien-1-yl}-1,1-difluoro-1H-pyrido[1,2-c][1,3,5,2]oxadiazaborinin-9-ium-1-uide, C18H18BF2N3O (2), containing a dimethylamino group and either the shortest (in 1) or the longest (in 2) charge-transfer path known until now in this family of compounds, is presented. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis supported by computational investigations shed more light on these systems, indicating, among other aspects, the predominance of C—H...F contacts in 1, the formation of antiparallel dimers held together by π–π interactions in both compounds, and the involvement of fused BF2-bearing rings in the charge-transfer process.