Nature and strength of weak intermolecular interactions with metal atoms in crystals of square-planar nickel(ii) complexes

The results of geometric analysis of 588 crystal structures of square-planar nickel complexes containing short intermolecular Ni…X contacts (X is a non-metal atom) are reported. The frequency of occurrence of Ni…X interactions of a particular type was evaluated depending on the nature of the X atom and geometric characteristics. The promolecular functions RDG and sign(λ₂)?ρ(r) were used to analyze the character of Ni…X interactions in attractive/repulsive terms. The relative strength of these interactions was determined as the function of the nature of the X atom and the direction of charge transfer.