Crystal structure of a non-stoichiometric channel inclusion complex of 1-benzyl-6-phenylpiperidin-2-one-5-carboxylic acid with acetonitrile

C₁₉H₁₉NO₃·x CH₃CN (x=0.3),M_r=643.35, hexagonal, space groupP6₁ (No. 169),a=23.027(5),c=5.775(1) Å,V=2652(1) ų,Z=6. The structure was solved by direct methods and refined toR=0.077 for 1562 observed MoK reflections. The title heterocyclic carboxylic acid was established as thetrans isomer, with the phenyl and carboxyl substituents occupying pseudo-equatorial and equatorial positions, respectively, of the piperidin-2-one ring in a half-chair conformation. Acid host molecules related by the 6₁ screw operation are linked by intermolecular O–H...O (cyclic amide) hydrogen bonds to generate an open channel bounded by coaxial intertwined helices each having a pitch of 5c. Within each channel of free diameterca. 6.0 Å the acetonitrile molecules partially occupy highly disordered sites which do not lie on thec axis.Supplementary Data relating to this article are deposited with the British Library as Supplementary Publication No. SUP 82067 (13 pages).