The
simultaneous use of hydrogen bonds and halogen bonds in crystal
engineering strategies has previously been employed in order to generate
new solid forms with applications in e.g. pharmaceutical and agrochemical
industries. Unfortunately, it is not easy to predict how these will
coexist or compete in systems where multiple structural outcomes are
possible. To address this challenge, we have investigated the solid-state
landscape of a family of amide-substituted pyridines, belonging to
four series, N-(pyridin-2-yl)benzamides (Bz), N-(pyridin-2-yl)picolinamides (2Pyr), N-(pyridin-2-yl)nicotinamides (3Pyr) and N-(pyridin-2-yl)isonicotinamides (4Pyr), functionalized with three different halogen atoms (chlorine, bromine,
and iodine). We analyzed crystal structures of 16 compounds and identified
their primary intermolecular interactions. Within each series, the
chlorinated and brominated compounds present the same primary hydrogen-bond
interactions as shown by the nonhalogenated parent. The N-(pyridin-2-yl)benzamides assembled via NH···N(Py) synthons to form dimers, N-(pyridin-2-yl)picolinamides
showed intramolecular N–H···N(Py)
hydrogen bonding, and both N-(pyridin-2-yl)nicotinamides
(3Pyr) and N-(pyridin-2-yl) isonicotinamides
(4Pyr) assembled via NH···N(Py) synthons leading to the formation of chains or four-membered
rings. In three out of the four series (Bz, 2Pyr, and 4Pyr) the chloro and bromo compounds were isostructural.
Three out of the four iodinated compounds exhibited halogen bonds
to a neighboring molecule. In two of these compounds, Bz-I and 2Pyr-I, the primary hydrogen bonding resembled
that of the other members of the family, indicating that the interactions
mediated via the iodine atom were complementary to rather than competitive
with the hydrogen bonds. Two polymorphs of 4Pyr-I were
found, and in both forms, a halogen bond was formed with the N(py)
acceptor which was engaged in N–H···N hydrogen
bonds in the other members of this family. Since iodine acted as a
halogen-bond donor in four-fifths of the crystal structures of iodinated
compounds, these results show that the solid-state assembly of analogues
compounds capable of hydrogen bonding have a high likelihood of being
altered even in the presence of a nonactivated iodine atom.