The dithiolene ligand and tetrathiafulvalene precursor molecules 4,5‐bis(bromomethyl)‐1,3‐dithiol‐2‐one and 4,5‐bis[(dihydroxyphosphoryl)methyl]‐1,3‐dithiol‐2‐one

The crystal structures of 4,5‐bis(bromomethyl)‐1,3‐dithiol‐2‐one, C₅H₄Br₂OS₂, (I), and 4,5‐bis[(dihydroxyphosphoryl)methyl]‐1,3‐dithiol‐2‐one, C₅H₈O₇P₂S₂, (II), occur with similar unit cells in the same monoclinic space group. Both molecules reside on a twofold symmetry axis coincident with the C=O bond, so that the substituents in the 4‐ and 5‐positions project above and below the plane of the 1,3‐dithiol‐2‐one ring. In both structures, the molecules align themselves in a head‐to‐tail fashion along the b axis, and these rows of molecules then stack, with alternating directionality, along the c axis. For (II), an extensive network of intermolecular hydrogen bonds occurs between molecules within the same stack and between adjacent stacks. Each –CH₂P(O)(OH)₂ group participates in four hydrogen bonds, twice as donor and twice as acceptor.