The crystal and molecular structure of the copper(I) chloride complex containing p-benzoquinone as a ligand.

The crystal and molecular structure of the red compound, [(NH4)Cu3Cl4(C6H4O2)1.5·H2O], has been determined from 2115 X-ray diffraction data collected on an automated four-circle diffractometer. The crystals are monoclinic, with space group P21/c, and with four formula units in a unit cell of dimensions; a=7.308(5), b=11.593(7), c=18.359(9) A, and β=90.16(3)°. The structure was solved by direct methods, and block-diagonal leastsquares refinements led to a final discrepancy index, R, of 0.035. The crystal structure is characterized by polymeric, beehive-like layers composed of Cu3Cl4− anions, and centro- and pseudocentrosymmetric p-benzoquinone molecules. Each of the p-benzoquinone molecules acts as a bridging ligand to the two trans Cu3Cl4− anions, with the Cu–C closest distances falling in the range from 2.047(5) to 2.086(5) A. The NH4+ cations and the water molecules are accommodated by a roughly coplanar arrangement within the tunnel-like holes of the beehives, and the NH4+ cations are joined to the lay...