Influence of supramolecular structures in crystals on parallel stacking interactions between pyridine molecules

Parallel stacking interactions between pyridines in crystal structures and the influence of hydrogen bonding and supramolecular structures in crystals on the geometries of interactions were studied by analyzing data from the Cambridge Structural Database (CSD). In the CSD 66 contacts of pyridines have a parallel orientation of molecules and most of these pyridines simultaneously form hydrogen bonds (44 contacts). The geometries of stacked pyridines observed in crystal structures were compared with the geometries obtained by calculations and explained by supramolecular structures in crystals. The results show that the mean perpendicular distance (R) between pyridine rings with (3.48 Å) and without hydrogen bonds (3.62 Å) is larger than that calculated, because of the influence of supramolecular structures in crystals. The pyridines with hydrogen bonds show a pronounced preference for offsets of 1.25–1.75 Å, close to the position of the calculated minimum (1.80 Å). However, stacking interactions of pyridines without hydrogen bonds do not adopt values at or close to that of the calculated offset. This is because stacking interactions of pyridines without hydrogen bonds are less strong, and they are more susceptible to the influence of supramolecular structures in crystals. These results show that hydrogen bonding and supramolecular structures have an important influence on the geometries of stacked pyridines in crystals.