The syntheses, in ethereal solvents, of the complexes of 15-crown-5 and cyclohexano-15-crown-5 with lithium, sodium, and potassium phenoxide are described. The two macrocycles form complexes with lithium and sodium phenoxide with host:guest ratios of 1:2. Potassium phenoxide, however, was complexed by the two macrocycles to give products with macrocycle:salt ratios of 1:1. Crystals of 15-crown-5•2LiOPh were obtained for X-ray diffraction structure determinations. In fact, the crystal structures of two co-crystallizing polymorphs of this complex (1a and 1b) have been determined. Polymorph 1a crystallizes in space group [Formula: see text] with a = 11.386(4), b = 11.901(4), c = 10.654(4) Å, α = 106.53(3), β = 112.60(3), γ = 106.52(3)°, and Z = 2. Polymorph 1b crystallizes in space group P21/n with a = 15.355(4), b = 11.642(2), c = 13.595(6) Å, β = 104.56(3)°, and Z = 4. Both structures were solved by direct methods, and refined by full-matrix least-squares calculations to residuals, R, of 0.053 and 0.055 for polymorphs 1a and 1b, respectively. The structures of the two polymorphs differ only in the orientation of the phenoxides. The structures show a dimer, (15-crown-5•2LiOPh)2, which consists of an aggregate of four lithium phenoxide molecules complexed by two 15-crown-5 macrocycles. The two lithiums of each monomeric unit of this dimer have different crystallographic and chemical environments. One lithium is coordinated to all five oxygens of the macrocycle and to one of the phenoxide oxygens while the other lithium is coordinated to only one oxygen of the macrocycle and to three phenoxide oxygens.
Comparison of the X-ray crystal structures of the sodium and potassium 2,4,6-tris(trifluoromethyl)phenoxides (RO–) and 2,4,6-tris(trifluoromethyl)benzenethiolates (RS–); [Na(OR)(thf)2]2, [K(OR)(thf)2(µ-thf)]2, [Na(SR)(thf)2·0.25thf]xand [K(SR)(thf)]x(thf = tetrahydrofuran)
