Molecular structures of chalcone podands: A prognosis of photoinduced transformations in the crystals

A series of chalcone podands with the propenone group in the ortho position of the bridging aryl substituent with respect to the oxyethylene fragment is synthesized. The influence of the preorganization of the chalcone podand molecules in crystals on their ability to participate in topochemical reactions is investigated. From analyzing the X-ray structural data, the highest probability of the solid-state photochemical [2 + 2]cycloaddition is predicted for podands with phenyl substituents and the oxyethylene fragment containing two or three oxygen atoms. The X-ray structural data for the chalcone podand C₃₂H₂₆O₄ (3a) are as follows: a = 7.904(9) Å, b = 14.92(2) Å, c = 21.30(3) Å, β = 91.7(1)°, monoclinic system, space group P2₁/c, Z = 4, V = 2510(5) ų, ρ = 1.26 g/cm³, and R = 0.046; C₃₄H₃₀O₅ (3b): a = 15.738(9) Å, b = 11.889(2) Å, c = 15.0830(15) Å, β = 105.47(14)°, monoclinic system, space group C2/c, Z = 4, V = 2720.0(9) ų, ρ = 1.266 g/cm³, and R = 0.0418; C₃₂H₂₄N₂O₈ (4a): a = 17.9416(18) Å, b = 10.9703(8) Å, c = 41.699(2) Å, β = 105.970(11)°, monoclinic system, space group P2₁/c, Z = 4, V = 2781.4(5) ų, ρ = 1.348 g/cm³, and R = 0.0426; C₃₆H₃₂N₂O₁₀ (4c): a = 7.6286(5)Å, b = 17.9398(10) Å, c = 11.5890(3)Å, β = 95.287(4)°, monoclinic system, space group P2₁/n, Z = 2, V = 1579.27(14) ų, ρ = 1.372 g/cm³, and R = 0.0377; and C₂₈H₂₂O₆ (5a): a = 15.6032(10) Å, b = 8.1131(5) Å, c = 17.7334(11) Å, β = 91.381(5)°, monoclinic system, space group C2/c, Z = 4, V = 2244.2(2) ų, ρ = 1.345 g/cm³, and R = 0.0309.