The combination of halogen and hydrogen bonding: a versatile tool in coordination chemistry

4 Iodo N (4 pyridyl)benzamide (INPBA) and four derived coordination complexes were synthesized in order to explore the combination of halogen and hydrogen bonding interactions in coordination chemistry. The electron withdrawing carbonyl group attached to the aromatic ring bearing the iodine atom has been introduce to increases its halogen bonding ability. Single crystal X ray diffraction analyses of INPBA, [Ag(INPBA)2]NO3 (1), [ZnBr2(INPBA)2] (2), [Zn(OCOPh)2(INPBA)2] (3) and [HgI2(INPBA)]n (4) show the versatility of the INPBA building block yielding a variety of interesting different structures. Iodine atom arrangement plays a key role by reinforcing and extending the crystalline structures into diverse 3D supramolecular networks via I⋯O, I⋯N, and I⋯I halogen bonding interactions. Besides of this, the overall supramolecular architecture of the coordination complexes is modulated by the N H⋯O, N H⋯Br, and C H⋯O hydrogen bonds formed by the carboxamide group. The combination of both, halogen and hydrogen bonds, allow to design very different coordination networks.