The crystal structures of isostructural 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylate tetrahydrate salts of nickel(II) and cobalt(II) have been determined using Monte Carlo simulated annealing techniques and laboratory X-ray powder diffraction data. These compounds crystallize in the triclinic space groupP\bar{1}, withZ= 2;a= 10.0851 (4),b= 10.9429 (5),c= 6.2639 (3) Å, α = 98.989 (2), β = 87.428 (3), γ = 108.015 (2)°,V= 649.32 (5) Å3for [Ni(C12H6O4)(H2O)4], anda= 10.1855 (6),b= 10.8921 (6),c= 6.2908 (5) Å, α = 98.519 (4), β = 87.563 (4), γ = 108.304 (3)°,V= 655.28 (8) Å3for [Co(C12H6O4)(H2O)4]. The water-molecule H atoms were located by quantum chemical geometry optimization usingCASTEP. The structure consists of alternating hydrocarbon and metal/oxygen layers parallel to theacplane. Each naphthalenedicarboxylate anion bridges two metal cations; each carboxyl group is monodentate. The resulting structure contains infinite chains parallel to [111]. The octahedral coordination sphere of the metal cations containstranscarboxylates and four equatorial water molecules. The carboxyl groups are rotated by 15–20° out of the naphthalene plane. The metal/oxygen layers are characterized by an extensive hydrogen-bonding network. The orientations of the carboxyl groups are determined by the formation of short (O...O = 2.53 Å) hydrogen bonds between the carbonyl O atoms and theciswater molecules. Molecular mechanics energy minimizations suggest that coordination and hydrogen-bonding interactions are most important in determining the crystal packing.
Solvent-free synthesis of symmetric methylene diesters via direct reaction of aromatic carboxylates with 1,n-dihaloalkanes
