The hardware for data archiving has expanded capacities for digital storage enormously in the past decade or more. The IUCr evaluated the costs and benefits of this within an official working group which advised that raw data archiving would allow ground truth reproducibility in published studies. Consultations of the IUCr's Commissions ensued via a newly constituted standing advisory committee, the Committee on Data. At all stages, the IUCr financed workshops to facilitate community discussions and possible methods of raw data archiving implementation. The recent launch of the IUCrData journal's Raw Data Letters is a milestone in the implementation of raw data archiving beyond the currently published studies: it includes diffraction patterns that have not been fully interpreted, if at all. The IUCr 75th Congress in Melbourne included a workshop on raw data reuse, discussing the successes and ongoing challenges of raw data reuse. This article charts the efforts of the IUCr to facilitate discussions and plans relating to raw data archiving and reuse within the various communities of crystallography, diffraction and scattering.

Carbonic anhydrase (CA) was among the first proteins whose X-ray crystal structure was solved to atomic resolution. CA proteins have essentially the same fold and similar active centers that differ in only several amino acids. Primary sulfonamides are well defined, strong and specific binders of CA. However, minor variations in chemical structure can significantly alter their binding properties. Over 1000 sulfonamides have been designed, synthesized and evaluated to understand the correlations between the structure and thermodynamics of their binding to the human CA isozyme family. Compound binding was determined by several binding assays: fluorescence-based thermal shift assay, stopped-flow enzyme activity inhibition assay, isothermal titration calorimetry and competition assay for enzyme expressed on cancer cell surfaces. All assays have advantages and limitations but are necessary for deeper characterization of these protein–ligand interactions. Here, the concept and importance of intrinsic binding thermodynamics is emphasized and the role of structure–thermodynamics correlations for the novel inhibitors of CA IX is discussed – an isozyme that is overexpressed in solid hypoxic tumors, and thus these inhibitors may serve as anticancer drugs. The abundant structural and thermodynamic data are assembled into the Protein–Ligand Binding Database to understand general protein–ligand recognition principles that could be used in drug discovery.

In the folded state, biomolecules exchange between multiple conformational states crucial for their function. However, most structural models derived from experiments and computational predictions only encode a single state. To represent biomolecules accurately, we must move towards modeling and predicting structural ensembles. Information about structural ensembles exists within experimental data from X-ray crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy. Although new tools are available to detect conformational and compositional heterogeneity within these ensembles, the legacy PDB data structure does not robustly encapsulate this complexity. We propose modifications to the macromolecular crystallographic information file (mmCIF) to improve the representation and interrelation of conformational and compositional heterogeneity. These modifications will enable the capture of macromolecular ensembles in a human and machine-interpretable way, potentially catalyzing breakthroughs for ensemble–function predictions, analogous to the achievements of AlphaFold with single-structure prediction.

A series of events underscoring the significant advancements in micro-crystallization and in vivo crystallography were held during the 26th IUCr Congress in Melbourne, positioning microcrystallography as a pivotal field within structural biology. Through collaborative discussions and the sharing of innovative methodologies, these sessions outlined frontier approaches in macromolecular crystallography. This review provides an overview of this rapidly moving field in light of the rich dialogues and forward-thinking proposals explored during the congress workshop and microsymposium. These advances in microcrystallography shed light on the potential to reshape current research paradigms and enhance our comprehension of biological mechanisms at the molecular scale.

Here, the novel technique of extended-range high-energy-resolution fluorescence detection (XR-HERFD) has successfully observed the n = 2 satellite in manganese to a high accuracy. The significance of the satellite signature presented is many hundreds of standard errors and well beyond typical discovery levels of three to six standard errors. This satellite is a sensitive indicator for all manganese-containing materials in condensed matter. The uncertainty in the measurements has been defined, which clearly observes multiple peaks and structure indicative of complex physical quantum-mechanical processes. Theoretical calculations of energy eigenvalues, shake-off probability and Auger rates are also presented, which explain the origin of the satellite from physical n = 2 shake-off processes. The evolution in the intensity of this satellite is measured relative to the full Kα spectrum of manganese to investigate satellite structure, and therefore many-body processes, as a function of incident energy. Results demonstrate that the many-body reduction factor S02 should not be modelled with a constant value as is currently done. This work makes a significant contribution to the challenge of understanding many-body processes and interpreting HERFD or resonant inelastic X-ray scattering spectra in a quantitative manner.

The aberrant fibrillization of huntingtin exon 1 (Httex1) characterized by an expanded polyglutamine (polyQ) tract is a defining feature of Huntington's disease, a neurodegenerative disorder. Recent investigations underscore the involvement of a small EDRK-rich factor 1a (SERF1a) in promoting Httex1 fibrillization through interactions with its N terminus. By establishing an integrated approach with size-exclusion-column-based small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering (SEC-SWAXS), NMR, and molecular simulations using Rosetta, the analysis here reveals a tight binding of two NT17 fragments of Httex1 (comprising the initial 17 amino acids at the N terminus) to the N-terminal region of SERF1a. In contrast, examination of the complex structure of SERF1a with a coiled NT17-polyQ peptide (33 amino acids in total) indicates sparse contacts of the NT17 and polyQ segments with the N-terminal side of SERF1a. Furthermore, the integrated SEC-SWAXS and molecular-simulation analysis suggests that the coiled NT17 segment can transform into a helical conformation when associated with a polyQ segment exhibiting high helical content. Intriguingly, NT17-polyQ peptides with enhanced secondary structures display diminished interactions with SERF1a. This insight into the conformation-dependent binding of NT17 provides clues to a catalytic association mechanism underlying SERF1a's facilitation of Httext1 fibrillization.

Reaching beyond the commonly used spherical atomic electron density model allows one to greatly improve the accuracy of hydrogen atom structural param­eters derived from X-ray data. However, the effects of atomic asphericity are less explored for electron diffraction data. In this work, Hirshfeld atom refinement (HAR), a method that uses an accurate description of electron density by quantum mechanical calculation for a system of interest, was applied for the first time to the kinematical refinement of electron diffraction data. This approach was applied here to derive the structure of ordinary hexagonal ice (Ih). The effect of introducing HAR is much less noticeable than in the case of X-ray refinement and it is largely overshadowed by dynamical scattering effects. It led to only a slight change in the O—H bond lengths (shortening by 0.01 Å) compared with the independent atom model (IAM). The average absolute differences in O—H bond lengths between the kinematical refinements and the reference neutron structure were much larger: 0.044 for IAM and 0.046 Å for HAR. The refinement results changed considerably when dynamical scattering effects were modelled – with extinction correction or with dynamical refinement. The latter led to an improvement of the O—H bond length accuracy to 0.021 Å on average (with IAM refinement). Though there is a potential for deriving more accurate structures using HAR for electron diffraction, modelling of dynamical scattering effects seems to be a necessary step to achieve this. However, at present there is no software to support both HAR and dynamical refinement.

Identifying and characterizing metal-binding sites (MBS) within macromolecular structures is imperative for elucidating their biological functions. CheckMyMetal (CMM) is a web based tool that facilitates the interactive valid­ation of MBS in structures determined through X-ray crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). Recent updates to CMM have significantly enhanced its capability to efficiently handle large datasets generated from cryo-EM structural analyses. In this study, we address various challenges inherent in validating MBS within both X-ray and cryo-EM structures. Specifically, we examine the difficulties associated with accurately identifying metals and modeling their coordination environments by considering the ongoing reproducibility challenges in structural biology and the critical importance of well annotated, high-quality experimental data. CMM employs a sophisticated framework of rules rooted in the valence bond theory for MBS validation. We explore how CMM validation parameters correlate with the resolution of experimentally derived structures of macromolecules and their complexes. Additionally, we showcase the practical utility of CMM by analyzing a representative cryo-EM structure. Through a comprehensive examination of experimental data, we demonstrate the capability of CMM to advance MBS characterization and identify potential instances of metal misassignment.

X-ray and neutron crystallography, as well as cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM), are the most common methods to obtain atomic structures of biological macromolecules. A feature they all have in common is that, at typical resolutions, the experimental data need to be supplemented by empirical restraints, ensuring that the final structure is chemically reasonable. The restraints are accurate for amino acids and nucleic acids, but often less accurate for substrates, inhibitors, small-molecule ligands and metal sites, for which experimental data are scarce or empirical potentials are harder to formulate. This can be solved using quantum mechanical calculations for a small but interesting part of the structure. Such an approach, called quantum refinement, has been shown to improve structures locally, allow the determination of the protonation and oxidation states of ligands and metals, and discriminate between different interpretations of the structure. Here, we present a new implementation of quantum refinement interfacing the widely used structure-refinement software Phenix and the freely available quantum mechanical software ORCA. Through application to manganese superoxide dismutase and V- and Fe-nitro­genase, we show that the approach works effectively for X-ray and neutron crystal structures, that old results can be reproduced and structural discrimination can be performed. We discuss how the weight factor between the experimental data and the empirical restraints should be selected and how quantum mechanical quality measures such as strain energies should be calculated. We also present an application of quantum refinement to cryo-EM data for particulate methane monooxygenase and show that this may be the method of choice for metal sites in such structures because no accurate empirical restraints are currently available for metals.

Three solid solutions of [CH3NH3]CoxNi1−x(HCOO)3, with x = 0.25 (1), x = 0.50 (2) and x = 0.75 (3), were synthesized and their nuclear structures and magnetic properties were characterized using single-crystal neutron diffraction and magnetization measurements. At room temperature, all three compounds crystallize in the Pnma orthorhombic space group, akin to the cobalt and nickel end series members. On cooling, each compound undergoes a distinct series of structural transitions to modulated structures. Compound 1 exhibits a phase transition to a modulated structure analogous to the pure Ni compound [Cañadillas-Delgado, L., Mazzuca, L., Fabelo, O., Rodríguez-Carvajal, J. & Petricek, V. (2020). Inorg. Chem. 59, 17896–17905], whereas compound 3 maintains the behaviour observed in the pure Co compound reported previously [Canadillas-Delgado, L., Mazzuca, L., Fabelo, O., Rodriguez-Velamazan, J. A. & Rodriguez-Carvajal, J. (2019). IUCrJ, 6, 105–115], although in both cases the temperatures at which the phase transitions occur differ slightly from the pure phases. Monochromatic neutron diffraction measurements showed that the structural evolution of 2 diverges from that of either parent compound, with competing hydrogen bond interactions that drive the modulation throughout the series, producing a unique sequence of phases. It involves two modulated phases below 96 (3) and 59 (3) K, with different q vectors, similar to the pure Co compound (with modulated phases below 128 and 96 K); however, it maintains the modulated phase below magnetic order [at 22.5 (7) K], resembling the pure Ni compound (which presents magnetic order below 34 K), resulting in an improper modulated magnetic structure. Despite these large-scale structural changes, magnetometry data reveal that the bulk magnetic properties of these solid solutions form a linear continuum between the end members. Notably, doping of the metal site in these solid solutions allows for tuning of bulk magnetic properties, including magnetic ordering temperature, transition temperatures and the nature of nuclear phase transitions, through adjustment of metal ratios.

Regolith draws intensive research attention because of its importance as the basis for fabricating materials for future human space exploration. Martian regolith is predicted to consist of defect-rich crystal structures due to long-term space weathering. The present report focuses on the structural differences between defect-rich and defect-poor forsterite (Mg2SiO4) – one of the major phases in Martian regolith. In this work, forsterites were synthesized using reverse strike co-precipitation and high-energy ball milling (BM). Subsequent post-processing was also carried out using BM to enhance the defects. The crystal structures of the samples were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction and total scattering using Cu and synchrotron radiation followed by Rietveld refinement and pair distribution function (PDF) analysis, respectively. The structural models were deduced by density functional theory assisted PDF refinements, describing both long-range and short-range order caused by defects. The Raman spectral features of the synthetic forsterites complement the ab initio simulation for an in-depth understanding of the associated structural defects.

OaPAC is a recently discovered blue-light-using flavin adenosine dinucleotide (BLUF) photoactivated adenylate cyclase from the cyanobacterium Oscillatoria acuminata that uses adenosine triphosphate and translates the light signal into the production of cyclic adenosine monophosphate. Here, we report crystal structures of the enzyme in the absence of its natural substrate determined from room-temperature serial crystallography data collected at both an X-ray free-electron laser and a synchrotron, and we compare these structures with cryo-macromolecular crystallography structures obtained at a synchrotron by us and others. These results reveal slight differences in the structure of the enzyme due to data collection at different temperatures and X-ray sources. We further investigate the effect of the Y6W mutation in the BLUF domain, a mutation which results in a rearrangement of the hydrogen-bond network around the flavin and a notable rotation of the side chain of the critical Gln48 residue. These studies pave the way for picosecond–millisecond time-resolved serial crystallography experiments at X-ray free-electron lasers and synchrotrons in order to determine the early structural intermediates and correlate them with the well studied pico­second–millisecond spectroscopic intermediates.

Density functional theory methods are applied to crystal structures and stabilities of phases from the aleksite homologous series, PbnBi4Te4Sn+2 (n = homologue number). The seven phases investigated correspond to n = 0 (tetradymite), 2 (aleksite-21R and -42R), 4 (saddlebackite-9H and -18H), 6 (unnamed Pb6Bi4Te4S8), 8 (unnamed Pb8Bi4Te4S10), 10 (hitachiite) and 12 (unnamed Pb12Bi4Te4S14). These seven phases correspond to nine single- or double-module structures, each comprising an odd number of atom layers, 5, 7, (5.9), 9, (7.11), 11, 13, 15 and 17, expressed by the formula: S(MpXp+1)·L(Mp+1Xp+2), where M = Pb, Bi and X = Te, S, p ≥ 2, and S and L = number of short and long modules, respectively. Relaxed structures show a and c values within 1.5% of experimental data; a and the interlayer distance dsub decrease with increasing PbS content. Variable Pb—S bond lengths contrast with constant Pb—S bond lengths in galena. All phases are n-fold superstructures of a rhombohedral subcell with c/3 = dsub*. Electron diffraction patterns show two brightest reflections at the centre of dsub*, described by the modulation vector qF = (i/N) · dsub*, i = S + L. A second modulation vector, q = γ · csub*, shows a decrease in γ, from 1.8 to 1.588, across the n = 0 to n = 12 interval. The linear relationship between γ and dsub allows the prediction of any theoretical phases beyond the studied compositional range. The upper PbS-rich limit of the series is postulated as n = 398 (Pb398Bi4Te4S400), a phase with dsub (1.726 Å) identical to that of trigonal PbS within experimental error. The aleksite series is a prime example of mixed layer compounds built with accretional homology principles.

A significant part of the present and future of optoelectronic devices lies on thin multilayer heterostructures. Their optical properties depend strongly on strain, being essential to the knowledge of the stress level to optimize the growth process. Here the structural and microstructural characteristics of sub-micron a-ZnO epilayers (12 to 770 nm) grown on r-sapphire by metal–organic chemical vapour deposition are studied. Morphological and structural studies have been made using scanning electron microscopy and high-resolution X-ray diffraction. Plastic unit-cell distortion and corresponding strain have been determined as a function of film thickness. A critical thickness has been observed as separating the non-elastic/elastic states with an experimental value of 150–200 nm. This behaviour has been confirmed from ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy measurements. An equation that gives the balance of strains is proposed as an interesting method to experimentally determine this critical thickness. It is concluded that in the thinnest films an elongation of the Zn—O bond takes place and that the plastic strained ZnO films relax through nucleation of misfit dislocations, which is a consequence of three-dimensional surface morphology.

The compression behavior of [Rb(18-crown-6)][SbCl6] crystal under pressure up to 2.16 (3) GPa was investigated in a diamond anvil cell (DAC) using a mixture of pentane–iso­pentane (1:4) as the pressure-transmitting fluid. The compound crystallizes in trigonal space group R3 and no phase transition was observed in the indicated pressure range. The low value of pressure bulk modulus [9.1 (5) GPa] found in this crystal is a characteristic of soft materials with predominant dispersive and electrostatic interaction forces. The nonlinear relationship between unit-cell parameters under high pressure is attributed to the influence of reduced intermolecular H⋯Cl contacts under pressure over 0.73 GPa. It also explains the high compression efficiency of [Rb(18-crown-6)][SbCl6] crystals at relatively low pressures, resulting in a significant shift of the Rb atom to the center of the crown ether cavity. At pressures above 0.9 GPa, steric repulsion forces begin to play a remarkable role, since an increasing number of interatomic H⋯Cl and H⋯H contacts become shorter than the sum of their van der Waals (vdW) radii. Below 0.9 GPa, both unit-cell parameter dependences (P–a and P–c) exhibit hysteresis upon pressure release, demonstrating their influence on the disordered model of Rb atoms. The void reduction under pressure also demonstrates two linear sections with the inflection point at 0.9 GPa. Compression of the crystal is accompanied by a significant decrease in the volume of the voids, leading to the rapid approach of Rb atoms to the center of the crown ether cavity. For the Rb atom to penetrate into the center of the crown ether cavity in [Rb(18-crown-6)][SbCl6], it is necessary to apply a pressure of about 2.5 GPa to disrupt the balance of atomic forces in the crystal. This sample serves as a compression model demonstrating the influence of both attractive and repulsive forces on the change in unit-cell parameters under pressure.

The NaZr2P3O12 family of materials have shown low and tailorable thermal expansion properties. In this study, SrZr4P6O24 (SrO·4ZrO2·3P2O5), CaZr4P6O24 (CaO·4ZrO2·3P2O5), MgZr4P6O24 (MgO·4ZrO2·3P2O5), NaTi2P3O12 [½(Na2O·4TiO2·3P2O5)], NaZr2P3O12 [½(Na2O·4ZrO2·3P2O5)], and related solid solutions were synthesized using the organic–inorganic steric entrapment method. The samples were characterized by in-situ high-temperature X-ray diffraction from 25 to 1500°C at the Advanced Photon Source and National Synchrotron Light Source II. The average linear thermal expansion of SrZr4P6O24 and CaZr4P6O24 was between −1 × 10−6 per °C and 6 × 10−6 per °C from 25 to 1500°C. The crystal structures of the high-temperature polymorphs of CaZr4P6O24 and SrZr4P6O24 with R3c symmetry were solved by Fourier difference mapping and Rietveld refinement. This polymorph is present above ∼1250°C. This work measured thermal expansion coefficients to 1500°C for all samples and investigated the differences in thermal expansion mechanisms between polymorphs and between compositions.

The molecule of anti-epileptic drug lamotrigine [LAM; 3,5-diamino-6-(2,3-dichlorophenyl)-1,2,4-triazine] is capable of the formation of multicomponent solids. Such an enhanced tendency is related to the diverse functionalities of the LAM chemical groups able to form hydrogen bonds. Two robust synthons are recognized in the supramolecular structure of LAM itself formed via N—H⋯N hydrogen bond: homosynthon, so-called aminopyridine dimer or synthon 1 [R22(8)] and larger homosynthon 2 [R32(8)]. The synthetic procedures for a new hydrate and 11 solvates of LAM (in the series: with acetone, ethanol: two polymorphs: form I and form II, 2-propanol, n-butanol, tert-butanol, n-pentanol, benzonitrile, acetonitrile, DMSO and dioxane) were performed. The comparative solid state structural analysis of a new hydrate and 11 solvates of LAM has been undertaken in order to establish robustness of the supramolecular synthons 1 and 2 found in the crystal structure of LAM itself as well as LAM susceptibility to build methodical solid state supramolecular architecture in the given competitive surrounding of potential hydrogen bonds. The aminopyridine dimer homosynthon 1 [R22(8)] has been switched from para-para (P-P) topology to ortho-ortho (O-O) topology in all crystal structures, except in LAM:n-pentanol:water solvate where it remains P-P. Homosynthon 2 [R32(8)] of the LAM crystal structure imitates in the LAM solvates as a heterosynthon by replacing the triazine nitrogen proton acceptor atoms of LAM with the proton acceptors of solvates molecules.

Quantum crystallography is an emerging research field of science that has its origin in the early days of quantum physics and modern crystallography when it was almost immediately envisaged that X-ray radiation could be somehow exploited to determine the electron distribution of atoms and molecules. Today it can be seen as a composite research area at the intersection of crystallography, quantum chemistry, solid-state physics, applied mathematics and computer science, with the goal of investigating quantum problems, phenomena and features of the crystalline state. In this article, the state-of-the-art of quantum crystallography will be described by presenting developments and applications of novel techniques that have been introduced in the last 15 years. The focus will be on advances in the framework of multipole model strategies, wavefunction-/density matrix-based approaches and quantum chemical topological techniques. Finally, possible future improvements and expansions in the field will be discussed, also considering new emerging experimental and computational technologies.

The structures of three multicomponent crystals formed with imidazole-based drugs, namely metronidazole, ketoconazole and miconazole, in conjunction with tri­thio­cyanuric acid are characterized. Each of the obtained adducts represents a different category of crystalline molecular forms: a cocrystal, a salt and a cocrystal of salt. The structural analysis revealed that in all cases, the N—H⋯N hydrogen bond is responsible for the formation of acid–base pairs, regardless of whether proton transfer occurs or not, and these molecular pairs are combined to form unique supramolecular motifs by centrosymmetric N—H⋯S interactions between acid molecules. The complex intermolecular forces acting in characteristic patterns are discussed from the geometric and energetic perspectives, involving Hirshfeld surface analysis, pairwise energy estimation, and natural bond orbital calculations.

Ion radii are derived here from the characteristic (grand mean) bond lengths for (i) 135 ions bonded to oxygen in 459 configurations (on the basis of coordination number) using 177 143 bond lengths extracted from 30 805 ordered coordination polyhedra from 9210 crystal structures; and (ii) 76 ions bonded to nitro­gen in 137 configurations using 4048 bond lengths extracted from 875 ordered coordination polyhedra from 434 crystal structures. There are two broad categories of use for ion radii: (1) those methods which use the relative sizes of cation and anion radii to predict local atomic arrangements; (2) those methods which compare the radii of different cations (or the radii of different anions) to predict local atomic arrangements. There is much uncertainty with regard to the relative sizes of cations and anions, giving rise to the common failure of type (1) methods, e.g. Pauling's first rule which purports to relate the coordination adopted by cations to the radius ratio of the constituent cation and anion. Conversely, type (2) methods, which involve comparing the sizes of different cations with each other (or different anions with each other), can give very accurate predictions of site occupancies, physical properties etc. Methods belonging to type (2) can equally well use the characteristic bond lengths themselves (from which the radii are derived) in place of radii to develop correlations and predict crystal properties. Extensive quantum-mechanical calculations of electron density in crystals in the literature indicate that the radii of both cations and anions are quite variable with local arrangement, suggesting significant problems with any use of ion radii. However, the dichotomy between the experimentally derived ion radii and the quantum-mechanical calculations of electron density in crystals is removed by the recognition that ion radii are pr­oxy variables for characteristic bond lengths in type (2) relations.

In the course of an investigation of the supramolecular behaviour of copper(II) complexes with the 5-phenyl­imidazole/perchlorate ligand system (`blend') remarkable solvatomorphism has been observed. By employing a variety of crystallization solvents (polar protic, polar/non-polar aprotic), a series of 12 crystalline solvatomorphs with the general formula [Cu(ClO4)2(LH)4]·x(solvent) have been obtained [LH = 5-phenyl­imidazole, x(solvent) = 3.3(H2O) (1), 2(methanol) (2), 2(ethanol) (3), 2(1-propanol) (4), 2(2-propanol) (5), 2(2-butanol) (6), 2(di­methyl­formamide) (7), 2(acetone) (8), 2(tetra­hydro­furane) (9), 2(1,4-dioxane) (10), 2(ethyl acetate) (11) and 1(di­ethyl ether) (12)]. The structures have been solved using single-crystal X-ray diffraction and the complexes were characterized by thermal analysis and infrared spectroscopy. The solvatomorphs are isostructural (triclinic, P1), with the exception of compound 9 (monoclinic, P21/n). The supramolecular structures and the role of the various solvents is discussed. All potential hydrogen-bond functionalities, both of the [Cu(ClO4)2(LH)4] units and of the solvents, are utilized in the course of the crystallization process. The supramolecular assembly in all structures is directed by strong recurring Nimidazole–H⋯Operchlorate motifs leading to robust scaffolds composed of the [Cu(ClO4)2(LH)4] host complexes. The solvents are located in channels and, with the exception of the disordered waters in 1 and the di­ethyl ether in 12, participate in hydrogen-bonding formation with the [Cu(ClO4)2(LH)4] complexes, serving as both hydrogen-bond acceptors and donors (for the polar protic solvents in 2–6), or solely as hydrogen-bond acceptors (for the polar/non-polar aprotic solvents in 7–11), linking the complexes and contributing to the stability of the crystalline compounds.

A polycrystalline sample LuCrO3 has been characterized by neutron powder diffraction (NPD) and magnetization measurements. Its crystal structure has been Rietveld refined from NPD data in space group Pnma; this perovskite contains strongly tilted CrO6 octahedra with extremely bent Cr—O—Cr superexchange angles of ∼142°. The NPD data show that below Néel temperature (TN ≃ 131 K), the magnetic structure can be defined as an A-type antiferromagnetic arrangement of Cr3+ magnetic moments, aligned along the b axis, with a canting along the c axis. A noticeable magneto­strictive effect is observed in the unit-cell parameters and volume upon cooling down across TN. The AC magnetic susceptibility indicates the onset of magnetic ordering below 112.6 K; the magnetization isotherms below TN show a nonlinear behaviour that is associated with the described canting of the Cr3+ magnetic moments. From the Curie–Weiss law, the effective moment of the Cr3+ sublattice is found to be μeff = 3.55 μB (calculated 3.7 μB) while the ΘCW parameter yields a value of −155 K, indicating antiferromagnetic interactions. There is a conspicuous increase of TN upon the application of external pressure, which must be due to shortening of the Cr—O bond length under compression that increases the orbital overlap integral.

Magnetic materials featuring triangular arrangements of spins are frequently investigated as platforms hosting magnetic frustration. Hexagonal perovskites with ordered vacancies serve as excellent candidates for two-dimensional triangular magnetism due to the considerable separation of the magnetic planes. In this work, the effects of chemical pressure on the ferromagnetic ground state of Ba2La2NiW2O12 by substitution of Ba2+ with Sr2+ to produce Sr2La2NiW2O12 are investigated. The two materials are characterized using synchrotron-based XRD, XANES and EXAFS in addition to magnetometry in order to correlate their crystal structures and magnetic properties. Both materials form in space group R3, yet as a result of the enhanced bending of key bond angles due to the effects of chemical pressure, the TC value of the magnetic Ni2+ sublattice is reduced from ∼6 K in Ba2La2NiW2O12 to 4 K in Sr2La2NiW2O12.

Synthesis experiments were conducted in the quaternary system K2O–Na2O–CaO–SiO2, resulting in the formation of a previously unknown compound with the composition K0.72Na1.71Ca5.79Si6O19. Single crystals of sufficient size and quality were recovered from a starting mixture with a K2O:Na2O:CaO:SiO2 molar ratio of 1.5:0.5:2:3. The mixture was confined in a closed platinum tube and slowly cooled from 1150°C at a rate of 0.1°C min−1 to 700°C before being finally quenched in air. The structure has tetragonal symmetry and belongs to space group P4122 (No. 91), with a = 7.3659 (2), c = 32.2318 (18) Å, V = 1748.78 (12) Å3, and Z = 4. The silicate anion consists of highly puckered, unbranched six-membered oligomers with the composition [Si6O19] and point group symmetry 2 (C2). Although several thousands of natural and synthetic oxosilicates have been structurally characterized, this compound is the first representative of a catena-hexasilicate anion, to the best of our knowledge. Structural investigations were completed using Raman spectroscopy. The spectroscopic data was interpreted and the bands were assigned to certain vibrational species with the support of density functional theory at the HSEsol level of theory. To determine the stability properties of the novel oligosilicate compared to those of the chemically and structurally similar cyclo­silicate combeite, we calculated the electronegativity of the respective structures using the electronegativity equalization method. The results showed that the molecular electronegativity of the cyclo­silicate was significantly higher than that of the oligostructure due to the different connectivities of the oxygen atoms within the molecular units.

Organic–inorganic hybrid crystals have diverse functionalities, for example in energy storage and luminescence, due to their versatile structures. The synthesis and structural characterization of a new cobalt–vanadium-containing compound, 2[Co(en)3]3+(V4O13)6−·4H2O (1) is presented. The crystal structure of 1, consisting of [Co(en)3]3+ complexes and chains of corner-sharing (VO4) tetrahedra, was solved by single-crystal X-ray diffraction in the centrosymmetric space group P1. Phase purity of the bulk material was confirmed by infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, elemental analysis and powder X-ray diffraction. The volume expansion of 1 was found to be close to 1% in the reported temperature range from 100 to 300 K, with a volume thermal expansion coefficient of 56 (2) × 10−6 K−1. The electronic band gap of 1 is 2.30 (1) eV, and magnetic susceptibility measurements showed that the compound exhibits a weak paramagnetic response down to 1.8 K, probably due to minor CoII impurities (<1%) on the CoIII site.

The magnetic and crystal structures of manganese and nickel monoxides have been studied using high-resolution neutron diffraction. The known 1k-structures based on the single propagation vector [½ ½ ½] for the parent paramagnetic space group Fm3m are forced to have monoclinic magnetic symmetry and are not possible in rhombohedral symmetry. However, the monoclinic distortions from the rhombohedral crystal metric allowed by symmetry are very small, and the explicit monoclinic splittings of the diffraction peaks have not been experimentally observed. We analyse the magnetic crystallographic models metrically compatible with our experimental data in full detail by using isotropy subgroup representation approach, including rhombohedral solutions based on the propagation vector star {[½ ½ ½], [−½ ½ ½], [½−½ ½], [½ ½ −½]}. Although the full star rhombohedral RI3c structure can equally well fit our diffraction data for NiO, we conclude that the best solution for the crystal and magnetic structures for NiO and MnO is the 1k monoclinic model with the magnetic space group Cc2/c (Belov–Neronova–Smirnova No. 15.90, UNI symbol C2/c.1'c[C2/m]).

The nitro­gen–sulfur Schiff base proligand S-n-octyl 3-(1-phenyl­ethyl­idene)di­thio­carbazate, C17H26N2S2 (HL), was prepared by reaction of S-octyl di­thio­carbamate with aceto­phenone. Treatment of HL with nickel acetate yielded the complex bis­[S-n-octyl 3-(1-phenyl­ethyl­idene)di­thio­carbazato]nickel(II), [Ni(C17H25N2S2)2] (NiL2), which was shown to adopt a tetra­hedrally distorted cis-square-planar coordination geometry, with the NiSN planes of the two ligands forming a dihedral angle of 21.66 (6)°. Changes in the geometry of the L ligand upon chelation of Ni2+ are described, involving a ca 180° rotation around the N(azomethine)—C(thiol­ate) bond.

The compounds bis­(morpholine-κN)gold(I) chloride, [Au(C4H9NO)2]Cl, 1, and bis­(morpholine-κN)gold(I) bromide, [Au(C4H9NO)2]Br, 2, crystallize isotypically in space group C2/c with Z = 4. The gold atoms, which are axially positioned at the morpholine rings, lie on inversion centres (so that the N—Au—N coordination is exactly linear) and the halide anions on twofold axes. The residues are connected by a classical hydrogen bond N—H⋯halide and by a short gold⋯halide contact to form a layer structure parallel to the bc plane. The morpholine oxygen atom is not involved in classical hydrogen bonding.

The title compound, C5H5NO2, is a hy­droxy­lated pyridine ring that has been studied for its involvement in microbial degradation of nicotinic acid. Here we describe its synthesis as a formic acid salt, rather than the standard hydro­chloride salt that is commercially available, and its spectroscopic and crystallographic characterization.

Single crystals of tricadmium orthophosphate, Cd3(PO4)2, have been synthesized successfully by the hydro­thermal route, while its powder form was obtained by a solid-solid process. The corresponding crystal structure was determined using X-ray diffraction data in the monoclinic space group P21/n. The crystal structure consists of Cd2O8 or Cd2O10 dimers linked together by PO4 tetra­hedra through sharing vertices or edges. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to investigate the morphology and to confirm the chemical composition of the synthesized powder. Infrared analysis corroborates the presence of isolated phosphate tetra­hedrons in the structure. UV–Visible studies showed an absorbance peak at 289 nm and a band gap energy of 3.85 eV, as determined by the Kubelka–Munk model.

In the title compound, C15H14N2O2·H2O, the 1H-pyrrole ring makes a dihedral angle of 59.95 (13)° with the phenyl ring. In the crystal, the mol­ecules are connected by C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds into layers parallel to the (020) plane, while two mol­ecules are connected to the water mol­ecule by two N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds and one mol­ecule by an O—H⋯O hydrogen bond. C—H⋯π and π–π inter­actions further link the mol­ecules into chains extending in the [overline{1}01] direction and stabilize the mol­ecular packing. According to a Hirshfeld surface study, H⋯H (49.4%), C⋯H/H⋯C (23.2%) and O⋯H/H⋯O (20.0%) inter­actions are the most significant contributors to the crystal packing.

We report the synthesis and structures of two transition-metal complexes involving 2-(2-hy­droxy­phen­yl)benzimidazole (2hpbi – a ligand of inter­est for its photoluminescent applications), with cobalt, namely, bis­[μ-2-(1H-1,3-benzo­diazol-2-yl)phenolato]bis­[ethanol(thio­cyanato)­cobalt(II)], [Co2(C13H9N2O)2(NCS)2(C2H6O)2], (1), and manganese, namely, bis­[μ-2-(1H-1,3-benzo­diazol-2-yl)phenolato]bis­{[2-(1H-1,3-benzo­diazol-2-yl)phenolato](thio­cyanato)­mang­an­ese(III)} dihydrate, [Mn2(C13H9N2O)4(NCS)2]·2H2O, (2). These structures are two recent examples of a fruitful collaboration between researchers at the Laboratoire de Chimie de Coordination Organique/Organic Coordination Chemistry Laboratory (LCCO), University of Dakar, Senegal and the National Crystallography Service (NCS), School of Chemistry, University Southampton, UK. This productive partnership was forged through meeting at Pan-African Conferences on Crystallography and quickly grew as the plans for the AfCA (African Crystallographic Association) developed. This article therefore also showcases this productive partnership, in celebration of the IUCr's 75 year anniversary and the recent inclusion of AfCA as a Regional Associate of the IUCr.

Reaction of FeCl2·4H2O with KSCN and 3-cyano­pyridine (pyridine-3-carbo­nitrile) in ethanol accidentally leads to the formation of single crystals of Fe(NCS)(Cl)(3-cyano­pyridine)4 or [FeCl(NCS)(C6H4N2)4]. The asymmetric unit of this compound consists of one FeII cation, one chloride and one thio­cyanate anion that are located on a fourfold rotation axis as well as of one 3-cyano­pyridine coligand in a general position. The FeII cations are sixfold coordinated by one chloride anion and one terminally N-bonding thio­cyanate anion in trans-positions and four 3-cyano­pyridine coligands that coordinate via the pyridine N atom to the FeII cations. The complexes are arranged in columns with the chloride anions, with the thio­cyanate anions always oriented in the same direction, which shows the non-centrosymmetry of this structure. No pronounced inter­molecular inter­actions are observed between the complexes. Initially, FeCl2 and KSCN were reacted in a 1:2 ratio, which lead to a sample that contains the title compound as the major phase together with a small amount of an unknown crystalline phase, as proven by powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD). If FeCl2 and KSCN is reacted in a 1:1 ratio, the title compound is obtained as a nearly pure phase. IR investigations reveal that the CN stretching vibration for the thio­cyanate anion is observed at 2074 cm−1, and that of the cyano group at 2238 cm−1, which also proves that the anionic ligands are only terminally bonded and that the cyano group is not involved in the metal coordination. Measurements with thermogravimetry and differential thermoanalysis reveal that the title compound decomposes at 169°C when heated at a rate of 4°C min−1 and that the 3-cyano­pyridine ligands are emitted in two separate poorly resolved steps. After the first step, an inter­mediate compound with the composition Fe(NCS)(Cl)(3-cyano­pyridine)2 of unknown structure is formed, for which the CN stretching vibration of the thio­cyanate anion is observed at 2025 cm−1, whereas the CN stretching vibration of the cyano group remain constant. This strongly indicates that the FeII cations are linked by μ-1,3-bridg­ing thio­cyanate anions into chains or layers.

The title mol­ecule, C29H44N8O, adopts a conformation resembling a two-bladed fan with the octyl chains largely in fully extended conformations. In the crystal, C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds form chains of mol­ecules extending along the b-axis direction, which are linked by weak C—H⋯N hydrogen bonds and C—H⋯π inter­actions to generate a three-dimensional network. A Hirshfeld surface analysis of the crystal structure indicates that the most important contributions for the crystal packing are from H⋯H (68.3%), H⋯N/N⋯H (15.7%) and H⋯C/C⋯H (10.4%) inter­actions.

The reaction between the (R,S)-fixolide 4-methyl­thio­semicarbazone and PdII chloride yielded the title compound, [Pd(C20H30N3S)2]·C2H6O {common name: trans-bis­[(R,S)-fixolide 4-methyl­thio­semicarbazonato-κ2N2S]palladium(II) ethanol monosolvate}. The asymmetric unit of the title compound consists of one bis-thio­semicarbazonato PdII complex and one ethanol solvent mol­ecule. The thio­semicarbazononato ligands act as metal chelators with a trans configuration in a distorted square-planar geometry. A C—H⋯S intra­molecular inter­action, with graph-set motif S(6), is observed and the coordination sphere resembles a hydrogen-bonded macrocyclic environment. Additionally, one C—H⋯Pd anagostic inter­action can be suggested. Each ligand is disordered over the aliphatic ring, which adopts a half-chair conformation, and two methyl groups [s.o.f. = 0.624 (2):0.376 (2)]. The disorder includes the chiral carbon atoms and, remarkably, one ligand has the (R)-isomer with the highest s.o.f. value atoms, while the other one shows the opposite, the atoms with the highest s.o.f. value are associated with the (S)-isomer. The N—N—C(=S)—N fragments of the ligands are approximately planar, with the maximum deviations from the mean plane through the selected atoms being 0.0567 (1) and −0.0307 (8) Å (r.m.s.d. = 0.0403 and 0.0269 Å) and the dihedral angle with the respective aromatic rings amount to 46.68 (5) and 50.66 (4)°. In the crystal, the complexes are linked via pairs of N—H⋯S inter­actions, with graph-set motif R22(8), into centrosymmetric dimers. The dimers are further connected by centrosymmetric pairs of ethanol mol­ecules, building mono-periodic hydrogen-bonded ribbons along [011]. The Hirshfeld surface analysis indicates that the major contributions for the crystal cohesion are [atoms with highest/lowest s.o.f.s considered separately]: H⋯H (81.6/82.0%), H⋯C/C⋯H (6.5/6.4%), H⋯N/N⋯H (5.2/5.0%) and H⋯S/S⋯H (5.0/4.9%).

In the title mol­ecule, C7H7N3O, the pyrimidine ring is essentially planar, with the propynyl group rotated out of this plane by 15.31 (4)°. In the crystal, a tri-periodic network is formed by N—H⋯O, N—H⋯N and C—H⋯O hydrogen-bonding and slipped π–π stacking inter­actions, leading to narrow channels extending parallel to the c axis. Hirshfeld surface analysis of the crystal structure reveals that the most important contributions for the crystal packing are from H⋯H (36.2%), H⋯C/C⋯H (20.9%), H⋯O/O⋯H (17.8%) and H⋯N/N⋯H (12.2%) inter­actions, showing that hydrogen-bonding and van der Waals inter­actions are the dominant inter­actions in the crystal packing. Evaluation of the electrostatic, dispersion and total energy frameworks indicates that the stabilization is dominated by the electrostatic energy contributions. The mol­ecular structure optimized by density functional theory (DFT) calculations at the B3LYP/6–311 G(d,p) level is compared with the experimentally determined structure in the solid state. The HOMO–LUMO behaviour was also elucidated to determine the energy gap.

The ternary magnesium/lithium boride, MgxLi3 − xB48 − y (x = 1.11, y = 0.40, idealized formula MgLi2B48), crystallizes as its own structure type in P43212, which is closely related to the structural family comprising α-AlB12, Be0.7Al1.1B22 and tetra­gonal β-boron. The asymmetric unit of title structure contains two statistical mixtures Mg/Li in Wyckoff sites 8b with relative occupancies Mg:Li = 0.495 (9):0.505 (9) and 4a with Mg:Li = 0.097 (8):0.903 (8). The boron atoms occupy 23 8b sites and two 4a sites. One of the latter sites has a partial occupancy factor of 0.61 (2). Both unique Mg/Li atoms adopt a twelvefold coordination environment in the form of truncated tetra­hedra (Laves polyhedra). These polyhedra are connected by triangular faces to four [B12] icosa­hedra. The boron atoms exhibit four kinds of polyhedra, namely penta­gonal pyramid (coordination number CN = 6), distorted tetra­gonal pyramid (CN = 5), bicapped hexa­gon (CN = 8) and gyrobifastigium (CN = 8). At the gas hydrogenation of MgLi2B48 alloy, formation of the eutectic composite hydride LiBH4+Mg(BH4)2 and amorphous boron is observed. In the temperature range 543–623 K, the hydride eutectics decompose, forming MgH2, LiH, MgB4, B and H2.

The tetra­kis complex of neodymium(III), tetra­kis­{μ-N-[bis­(pyrrolidin-1-yl)phos­phor­yl]acet­am­id­ato}bis(pro­pan-2-ol)neodymiumsodium pro­pan-2-ol monosol­vate, [NaNd(C10H16Cl3N3O2)4(C3H8O)2]·C3H8O or NaNdPyr4(i-PrOH)2·i-PrOH, with the amide type CAPh ligand bis(N,N-tetra­methylene)(tri­chloro­acetyl)phos­phoric acid tri­amide (HPyr), has been synthesized, crystallized and characterized by X-ray diffraction. The complex does not have the tetra­kis­(CAPh)lanthanide anion, which is typical for ester-type CAPh-based coordin­ation compounds. Instead, the NdO8 polyhedron is formed by one oxygen atom of a 2-propanol mol­ecule and seven oxygen atoms of CAPh ligands in the title compound. Three CAPh ligands are coordinated in a bidentate chelating manner to the NdIII ion and simultaneously binding the sodium cation by μ2-bridging PO and CO groups while the fourth CAPh ligand is coordinated to the sodium cation in a bidentate chelating manner and, due to the μ2-bridging function of the PO group, also binds the neodymium ion.

The mol­ecular and crystal structure of a discrete [Ni8(μ4-OH)6(μ-4-Rpz)12]2− (R = H; pz = pyrazolate anion, C3H3N2−) cluster with an unprecedented, perfectly cubic arrangement of its eight Ni centers is reported, along with its lower-symmetry alkyl-functionalized (R = methyl and n-oct­yl) derivatives. Crystals of the latter two were obtained with two identical counter-ions (Bu4N+), whereas the crystal of the complex with the parent pyrazole ligand has one Me4N+ and one Bu4N+ counter-ion. The methyl derivative incorporates 1,2-di­chloro­ethane solvent mol­ecules in its crystal structure, whereas the other two are solvent-free. The compounds are tetra­butyl­aza­nium tetra­methyl­aza­nium hexa-μ4-hydroxido-dodeca-μ2-pyrazolato-hexa­hedro-octa­nickel, (C16H36N)(C4H12N)[Ni8(C3H3N2)12(OH)6] or (Bu4N)(Me4N)[Ni8(μ4-OH)6(μ-pz)12] (1), bis­(tetra­butyl­aza­nium) hexa-μ4-hydroxido-dodeca-μ2-(4-methyl­pyrazolato)-hexa­hedro-octa­nickel 1,2-di­chloro­ethane 7.196-solvate, (C16H36N)2[Ni8(C4H5N2)12(OH)6]·7.196C2H4Cl2 or (Bu4N)2[Ni8(μ4-OH)6(μ-4-Mepz)12]·7.196(ClCH2CH2Cl) (2), and bis­(tetra­butyl­aza­nium) hexa-μ4-hydroxido-dodeca-μ2-(4-octylpyrazolato)-hexa­hedro-octa­nickel, (C16H36N)2[Ni8(C11H19N2)12(OH)6] or (Bu4N)2[Ni8(μ4-OH)6(μ-4-nOctpz)12] (3). All counter-ions are disordered (with the exception of one Bu4N+ in 3). Some of the octyl chains of 3 (the crystal is twinned by non-merohedry) are also disordered. Various structural features are discussed and contrasted with those of other known [Ni8(μ4-OH)6(μ-4-Rpz)12]2− complexes, including extended three-dimensional metal–organic frameworks. In all three structures, the Ni8 units are lined up in columns.

The title compound, C15H15F3N2O3S, crystallizes in the monoclinic system, space group I2/a, with Z = 8. As expected, the nine-membered heterobicyclic system is virtually planar and the cyclo­hexyl group adopts a chair conformation. There is structural evidence for intra­molecular N—S⋯O chalcogen bonding between the benziso­thia­zolinone S atom and one O atom of the nitro group, approximately aligned along the extension of the covalent N—S bond [N—S⋯O = 162.7 (1)°]. In the crystal, the mol­ecules form centrosymmetric dimers through C—H⋯O weak hydrogen bonding between a C—H group of the electron-deficient benzene ring and the benzo­thia­zolinone carbonyl O atom with an R22(10) motif. In contrast to the previously described N-acyl 7-nitro-5-(tri­fluoro­meth­yl)benzo[d]iso­thia­zol-3(2H)-ones, the title N-cyclo­hexyl­methyl analogue does not inhibit growth of Mycobacterium aurum and Mycobacterium smegmatis in vitro.

A novel o-phenyl­enedi­amine (opda)-based cadmium complex, bis­(benzene-1,2-di­amine-κ2N,N')bis­(benzene-1,2-di­amine-κN)cadmium(II) naphthalene-1,5-di­sulfonate, [Cd(C6H8N2)4](C10H6O6S2), was synthesized. The complex salt crystallizes in the monoclinic space group C2/c. The Cd atom occupies a special position and coordinates six nitro­gen atoms from four o-phenyl­enedi­amine mol­ecules, two as chelating ligands and two as monodentate ligands. The amino H atoms of opda inter­act with two O atoms of the naphthalene-1,5-di­sulfonate anions. The anions act as bridges between [Cd(opda)4]2+ cations, forming a two-dimensional network in the [010] and [001] directions. The Hirshfeld surface analysis shows that the primary factors contributing to the supramolecular inter­actions are short contacts, particularly van der Waals forces of the type H⋯H, O⋯H and C⋯H.

Single crystals of NbF5, niobium(V) fluoride, have been obtained by the reaction of niobium metal in a stream of dilute elemental fluorine at 473 K and subsequent sublimation. The as-obtained bulk phase compound was shown to be pure by powder X-ray diffraction at 293 K and by IR and Raman spectroscopy. A single-crystal X-ray analysis was conducted at 100 K. In comparison to the previously reported structure model [Edwards (1964). J. Chem. Soc. pp. 3714–3718], the lattice parameters and fractional atom coordinates were determined to much higher precision and individual, anisotropic displacement parameters were refined for all atoms.

In the title compound, C19H20Cl2N2O, the seven-membered 1,4-diazepane ring adopts a chair conformation while the 4-chloro­phenyl substituents adopt equatorial orientations. The chloro­phenyl ring at position 7 is disordered over two positions [site occupancies 0.480 (16):0.520 (16)]. The dihedral angle between the two benzene rings is 63.0 (4)°. The methyl groups at position 3 have an axial and an equatorial orientation. The compound exists as a dimer exhibiting inter­molecular N—H⋯O hydrogen bonding with R22(8) graph-set motifs. The crystal structure is further stabilized by C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds together with two C—Cl⋯π (ring) inter­actions. The geometry was optimized by DFT using the B3LYP/6–31 G(d,p) level basis set. In addition, the HOMO and LUMO energies, chemical reactivity parameters and mol­ecular electrostatic potential were calculated at the same level of theory. Hirshfeld surface analysis indicated that the most important contributions to the crystal packing are from H⋯H (45.6%), Cl⋯H/H⋯Cl (23.8%), H⋯C/C⋯H (12.6%), H⋯O/O⋯H (8.7%) and C⋯Cl/Cl⋯C (7.1%) inter­actions. Analysis of the inter­action energies showed that the dispersion energy is greater than the electrostatic energy. A crystal void volume of 237.16 Å3 is observed. A mol­ecular docking study with the human oestrogen receptor 3ERT protein revealed good docking with a score of −8.9 kcal mol−1.

Two new copper dimers, namely, bis­(dimethyl sulfoxide)­tetra­kis­(μ-pyrene-1-carboxyl­ato)dicopper(Cu—Cu), [Cu2(C17H9O2)4(C2H6OS)2] or [Cu2(pyr-COO−)4(DMSO)2] (1), and bis­(di­methyl­formamide)­tetra­kis­(μ-pyrene-1-carboxyl­ato)dicopper(Cu—Cu), [Cu2(C17H9O2)4(C3H7NO)2] or [Cu2(pyr-COO−)4(DMF)2] (2) (pyr = pyrene), were synthesized from the reaction of pyrene-1-carb­oxy­lic acid, copper(II) nitrate and tri­ethyl­amine from solvents DMSO and DMF, respectively. While 1 crystallized in the space group Poverline{1}, the crystal structure of 2 is in space group P21/n. The Cu atoms have octa­hedral geometries, with four oxygen atoms from carboxyl­ate pyrene ligands occupying the equatorial positions, a solvent mol­ecule coordinating at one of the axial positions, and a Cu⋯Cu contact in the opposite position. The packing in the crystal structures exhibits π–π stacking inter­actions and short contacts through the solvent mol­ecules. The Hirshfeld surfaces and two-dimensional fingerprint plots were generated for both compounds to better understand the inter­molecular inter­actions and the contribution of heteroatoms from the solvent ligands to the crystal packing. In addition, a Cu2+/Cu1+ quasi-reversible redox process was identified for compound 2 using cyclic voltammetry that accounts for a diffusion-controlled electron-donation process to the Cu dimer.

The title compound, C20H16N2O2, is composed of two monosubstituted benzene rings and one benzimidazole unit. The benzimidazole moiety subtends dihedral angles of 46.16 (7) and 77.45 (8)° with the benzene rings, which themselves form a dihedral angle of 54.34 (9)°. The crystal structure features O—H⋯N and O—H⋯O hydrogen-bonding inter­actions, which together lead to the formation of two-dimensional hydrogen-bonded layers parallel to the (101) plane. In addition, π–π inter­actions also contribute to the crystal cohesion. Hirshfeld surface analysis indicates that the most significant contacts in the crystal packing are: H⋯H (47.5%), O⋯H/H⋯O (12.4%), N⋯H/H⋯N (6.1%), C⋯H/H⋯C (27.6%) and C⋯C (4.6%).

The title complex, [ZnCl(C12H15N3O2)2][ZnCl3(CH3CN)], was synthesized and its structure was fully characterized through single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The complex crystallizes in the ortho­rhom­bic system, space group Pbca (61), with a central zinc atom coordinating one chlorine atom and two pyrrolidinyl-4-meth­oxy­phenyl azoformamide ligands in a bidentate manner, utilizing both the nitro­gen and oxygen atoms in a 1,3-heterodiene (N=N—C=O) motif for coordinative bonding, yielding an overall positively (+1) charged complex. The complex is accompanied by a [(CH3CN)ZnCl3]− counter-ion. The crystal data show that the harder oxygen atoms in the heterodiene zinc chelate form bonding inter­actions with distances of 2.002 (3) and 2.012 (3) Å, while nitro­gen atoms are coordinated by the central zinc cation with bond lengths of 2.207 (3) and 2.211 (3) Å. To gain further insight into the inter­molecular inter­actions within the crystal, Hirshfeld surface analysis was performed, along with the calculation of two-dimensional fingerprint plots. This analysis revealed that H⋯H (39.9%), Cl⋯H/H⋯Cl (28.2%) and C⋯H/H⋯C (7.2%) inter­actions are dominant. This unique crystal structure sheds light on arrangement and bonding inter­actions with azo­formamide ligands, and their unique qualities over similar semicarbazone and azo­thio­formamide structures.

The structures of 16 phosphane chalcogenide complexes of gold(I) halides, with the general formula R13-nR2nPEAuX (R1 = t-butyl; R2 = isopropyl; n = 0 to 3; E = S or Se; X = Cl, Br or I), are presented. The eight possible chlorido derivatives are: 1a, n = 3, E = S; 2a, n = 2, E = S; 3a, n = 1, E = S; 4a, n = 0, E = S; 5a, n = 3, E = Se; 6a, n = 2, E = Se; 7a, n = 1, E = Se; and 8a, n = 0, E = Se, and the corresponding bromido derivatives are 1b–8b in the same order. However, 2a and 2b were badly disordered and 8a was not obtained. The iodido derivatives are 2c, 6c and 7c (numbered as for the series a and b). All structures are solvent-free and all have Z' = 1 except for 6b and 6c (Z' = 2). All mol­ecules show the expected linear geometry at gold and approximately tetra­hedral angles P—E—Au. The presence of bulky ligands forces some short intra­molecular contacts, in particular H⋯Au and H⋯E. The Au—E bond lengths have a slight but consistent tendency to be longer when trans to a softer X ligand, and vice versa. The five compounds 1a, 5a, 6a, 1b and 5b form an isotypic set, despite the different alkyl groups in 6a. Compounds 3a/3b, 4b/8b and 6b/6c form isotypic pairs. The crystal packing can be analysed in terms of various types of secondary inter­actions, of which the most frequent are `weak' hydrogen bonds from methine hydrogen atoms to the halogenido ligands. For the structure type 1a, H⋯X and H⋯E contacts combine to form a layer structure. For 3a/3b, the packing is almost featureless, but can be described in terms of a double-layer structure involving borderline H⋯Cl/Br and H⋯S contacts. In 4a and 4b/8b, which lack methine groups, Cmeth­yl—H⋯X contacts combine to form layer structures. In 7a/7b, short C—H⋯X inter­actions form chains of mol­ecules that are further linked by association of short Au⋯Se contacts to form a layer structure. The packing of compound 6b/6c can conveniently be analysed for each independent mol­ecule separately, because they occupy different regions of the cell. Mol­ecule 1 forms chains in which the mol­ecules are linked by a Cmethine⋯Au contact. The mol­ecules 2 associate via a short Se⋯Se contact and a short H⋯X contact to form a layer structure. The packing of compound 2c can be described in terms of two short Cmethine—H⋯I contacts, which combine to form a corrugated ribbon structure. Compound 7c is the only compound in this paper to feature Au⋯Au contacts, which lead to twofold-symmetric dimers. Apart from this, the packing is almost featureless, consisting of layers with only translation symmetry except for two very borderline Au⋯H contacts.

The synthetic availability of mol­ecular water oxidation catalysts containing high-valent ions of 3d metals in the active site is a prerequisite to enabling photo- and electrochemical water splitting on a large scale. Herein, the synthesis and crystal structure of di­ammonium {μ-1,3,4,7,8,10,12,13,16,17,19,22-dodeca­aza­tetra­cyclo­[8.8.4.13,17.18,12]tetra­cosane-5,6,14,15,20,21-hexa­onato}ferrate(IV) acetic acid tris­olvate, (NH4)2[FeIV(C12H12N12O6)]·3CH3COOH or (NH4)2[FeIV(L–6H)]·3CH3COOH is reported. The FeIV ion is encapsulated by the macropolycyclic ligand, which can be described as a dodeca-aza-quadricyclic cage with two capping tri­aza­cyclo­hexane fragments making three five- and six six-membered alternating chelate rings with the central FeIV ion. The local coord­ination environment of FeIV is formed by six deprotonated hydrazide nitro­gen atoms, which stabilize the unusual oxidation state. The FeIV ion lies on a twofold rotation axis (multiplicity 4, Wyckoff letter e) of the space group C2/c. Its coordination geometry is inter­mediate between a trigonal prism (distortion angle φ = 0°) and an anti­prism (φ = 60°) with φ = 31.1°. The Fe—N bond lengths lie in the range 1.9376 (13)–1.9617 (13) Å, as expected for tetra­valent iron. Structure analysis revealed that three acetic acid mol­ecules additionally co-crystallize per one iron(IV) complex, and one of them is positionally disordered over four positions. In the crystal structure, the ammonium cations, complex dianions and acetic acid mol­ecules are inter­connected by an intricate system of hydrogen bonds, mainly via the oxamide oxygen atoms acting as acceptors.

The title compound, [Cu(HL)2(H2O)2] or [Cu(C4H4N3O2)2(H2O)2], is a mononuclear octa­hedral CuII complex based on 5-methyl-1H-1,2,4-triazole-3-carb­oxy­lic acid (H2L). [Cu(HL)2(H2O)2] was synthesized by reaction of H2L with copper(II) nitrate hexa­hydrate (2:1 stoichiometric ratio) in water under ambient conditions to produce clear light-blue crystals. The central Cu atom exhibits an N2O4 coordination environment in an elongated octa­hedral geometry provided by two bidentate HL− anions in the equatorial plane and two water mol­ecules in the axial positions. Hirshfeld surface analysis revealed that the most important contributions to the surface contacts are from H⋯O/O⋯H (33.1%), H⋯H (29.5%) and H⋯N/N⋯H (19.3%) inter­actions.