Engineering Homologous Molecular Organization in 2D and 3D. Cocrystallization of Pyridyl-Substituted Diaminotriazines with Alkanecarboxylic Acids

Isomeric pyridyl-substituted diaminotriazines 2a–c and elongated analogue 3 are designed to adopt flattened structures with features that favor adsorption on surfaces and participation in multiple intermolecular interactions. In particular, pyridyl and diaminotriazinyl groups have strong affinities for graphite, and both form coplanar hydrogen-bonded adducts with alkanecarboxylic acids according to reliable motifs. Together, these properties predispose compounds 2a–c and 3 to be coadsorbed with alkanecarboxylic acids on graphite and to cocrystallize as structures built from hydrogen-bonded sheets. Comparison of the 2D structures of the ordered adlayers (as determined by scanning tunneling microscopy) with the 3D structures of the cocrystals (as determined by X-ray diffraction) showed striking homology, typically with quantitatively similar structural parameters. Together, these results illustrate how a series of related compounds can be engineered to form ordered adlayers and crystalline solids with close...