The 1-arylimidazole-2-thiones, (HmimAr) [Ar =
3,4,5-C6H2(OMe)3,
2,4-C6H3(NO2)(OMe),
2,4,6-C6H2Cl3 and
3,5-C6H3(CF3)2], which feature
electronically diverse substituents, may be obtained via acid-catalyzed
ring closure of the corresponding
N,N′-aryldiethoxyethylthiourea derivatives,
ArN(H)C(S)N(H)CH2CH(OEt)2, (H2detuAr), which
in turn are obtained via treatment of aminoacetaldehyde diethyl acetal,
H2NCH2CH(OEt)2, with the respective arylisothiocyanates
(ArNCS). The molecular structures of all of the above
N,N′-aryldiethoxyethylthioureas and
1-arylimidazole-2-thiones have been determined by X-ray diffraction, thereby demonstrating
that the substituents have a profound effect on the crystal structures. For example, each
of the N,N′-aryldiethoxyethylthiourea
derivatives adopts a different hydrogen bonding pattern. Specifically, the
hydrogen-bonding network in (i)
H2detuArCl3 consists of chains of 9-membered rings,
with an [ R22(9)] motif, that feature one N–H ⋯ O
and one N–H ⋯ S interaction, (ii)
H2detuArOMe,NO2 consists of chains of 6-membered
rings, with an [ R21(6)] motif, that feature two head-to-tail
N–H ⋯ S interactions, (iii)
H2detuAr(CF3)2 consists of a dimer that
features two pairs of N–H ⋯ O interactions, of which each pair is a
component of an 8-membered ring with an [ R22(8)] motif, and (iv)
H2detuAr(OMe)3 consists of a chain of head-to-head
dimeric rings with a basic [ R22(16)] motif, a notable feature of which is that
sulfur does not play a role as a hydrogen bond acceptor. Each of the
1-arylimidazole-2-thiones exists as a “head-to-head” hydrogen-bonded dimer
in the solid state, with an [ R22(8)] motif. However, while the hydrogen-bonded
motifs for HmimArCl3 and HmimAr(OMe)3 are
planar, those for HmimAr(CF3)2 and
HmimArOMe,NO2 are extremely puckered, with fold angles of
24.2° (mean value) and 45.7°, respectively.