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Three imidazole-derived Schiff base compounds comprising an N -methyl imidazole group coupled to a phenol ring through an imine bond were synthesised. The structures differ by the substituent on the phenol ring at the 4-position: methyl (1), tert -butyl (2) and hydrogen (3). The compounds were synthesised using both a traditional reflux in solvent as well as an environmentally friendly solid-state reaction. Compounds (1)-(3) as well as the hemihydrate of (3) were all studied by single crystal X-ray diffraction. The asymmetric unit of compound (1) consists of two nominally planar molecules linked by hydrogen bonds to form a dimeric supramolecular structure. This dimeric structure was ubiquitous for the anhydrous forms of (1)-(3). The complementary hydrogen bonding motif between the imidazole N atoms and the phenol OH results in a stable 16-membered hydrogen-bonded ring. The asymmetric unit of (3) comprises two symmetry-independent molecules one of which has co-planar imidazole and phenol rings while the other shows a significantly oblique orientation. The hemihydrate of (3) similarly forms extensive hydrogen bonds, though in the form of a water-bridged dimeric structure. The hydrogen bond lengths (D⋯A) for compounds (1)-(3) are relatively short, ranging from 2.662(1) to 2.688(1) Å. DFT was used to understand the relative stability of the monomeric and dimeric species. These showed the hydrogen-bonded supramolecular structures were ca. 101 kJ mol -1 lower in energy than the non-interacting monomers. Scan simulations were used to calculate the total energy of the molecule as a function of phenyl ring rotation and showed why the expected planar configuration for a conjugated π-system was not observed experimentally. The barrier to rotation was found to be relatively low, 7.97(6) kJ mol -1 , with the lowest energy conformations subtending dihedral angles of 22.319, 24.265 and 25.319° for molecules (1), (2) and (3), respectively. The electrostatic potential maps are able to succinctly explain the stability of the hydrogen bonds through the partial charges of the interacting atoms. TD-DFT simulations and analysis of the simulated and experimental UV/visible spectra suggest that the dimeric supramolecular structure is a stable species in solution. This was confirmed through 1 H NMR titrations and an equilibrium constant of 0.16(5) M -1 was estimated., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

NAMFIS (NMR Analysis of Molecular Flexibility In Solution) has been applied to curcumin dissolved in DMSO. Quantitative 1 H- 1 H distance constraints reduce a pool of candidate conformations to a solution collection of four enol conformations-two of these match curcumin crystallized with human transthyretin, and one is closely related to a single-crystal structure of curcumin.

NAMFIS (NMR Analysis of Molecular Flexibility In Solution) was applied to 1-[2-(benzyloxy)phenyl]ethanone using quantitative (1)H-(1)H NOE distances and (3)J proton-carbon coupling constant (CC) restraints for averaged methylene proton (3)J(HCOC) and (3)J(HCCC) pathways H2-(3)J-X imposed by density functional theory-generated Karplus relationships. Comparison of the NOE-only versus the NOE + CC conformational selections illustrates that the experimentally measured average (3)J coupling constants of methylene protons can be used for solution conformational analysis, potentially valuable in the study of small-molecule drugs and natural products which lack the typically studied H1-(3)J-X Karplus relationships., (Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

The title compound, C(32)H(24)N(6)O(2), has an inversion centre located at the mid-point of the central C-C bond of the diether bridging unit. The terminal pyridine rings are canted relative to the central pyridine ring, with dihedral angles of 12.98 (6) and 26.80 (6)°. The maximum deviation from the eight-atom mean plane, defined by the two bridging O and C atoms and the central pyridine ring, is 0.0383 (10)° for the N atom.

The mol-ecule of the title compound, C(36)H(32)N(6)O(2), lies about an inversion center, located at the mid-point of the central C-C bond of the diether bridge. The terminal pyridine rings form dihedral angles of 4.67 (7) and 26.23 (7)° with the central ring. In the crystal, weak C-H⋯N and C-H⋯O inter-actions link the mol-ecules into a three-dimensional network.

The title compound, C(34)H(28)N(6)O(2), has an inversion centre located at the mid-point of the central C-C bond of the diether bridging unit. The central pyridine rings of the terpyridyl units and the diether chain are co-planar: the maximum deviation from the 18-atom mean plane defined by the bridging unit and the central pyridyl ring is for the pyridyl N atom which sits 0.055 (1) Å above the plane. The dihedral angles between the terminal pyridine rings with this plane are 10.3 (1) and 37.6 (1)°, repectively. In the crystal, weak C-H⋯N inter-actions link the mol-ecules into infinite chains parallel to the a axis.

Treatment of [Pt(trpy)Cl]SbF(6) with AgSCN in a metathesis reaction affords after work-up yellow crystals of [Pt(trpy)(NCS)]SbF(6).CH(3)CN where trpy is 2,2':6',2''-terpyridine. A single crystal structure determination of the solvate shows that the SCN(-) ion is N-bound to the Pt atom, and that the planar cations stack as Pt(2) dimers with a PtPt separation of 3.293(1) A. The crystals rapidly de-solvate under ambient conditions to give a polycrystalline maroon material characterised as [Pt(trpy)(NCS)]SbF(6) (). A (15)N NMR spectroscopic study of a solution of isotopically labeled [Pt(trpy)((15)N(13)CS)]SbF(6) in CD(3)CN shows that both linkage isomers of the SCN(-) ion co-exist in solution with the N-bound isomer dominant, and the S-bound isomer present at a much lower concentration. Compound exhibits temperature dependent (3)MMLCT emission in the solid state; at 280 K the emission maximises at 692 nm, but red-shifts systematically on cooling to reach 762 nm at 80 K. Compound shows vapochromic behaviour that is selective and reversible for vapours of acetonitrile, DMF and pyridine. The colour change is from maroon for to yellow for all three solvates. The emission spectra recorded for the solvates maximise at wavelengths that are all significantly blue-shifted compared to lambda(em)(max) recorded for : the blue-shifts measured at 77 K are 90, 115 and 155 nm for the acetonitrile, DMF and pyridine solvates respectively. The origin of the vapochromic properties of compound is likely to do with the breaking and making of metallophilic PtPt interactions in the solid state.

Multiple techniques have been used to delineate the self-assembly of a bis(pyrrole) Schiff base derivative (compound 4, C(16)H(14)N(4)), which forms an unusual dimer through complementary N-H...N=C hydrogen bonds between twisted, C2-symmetric monomer units. The asymmetric unit of the crystal structure comprises one and a half dimer units, with one dimer exhibiting approximate D2 point-group symmetry and the other exact D2 symmetry (space group C2/c). The dimers pack into columns whose axes are collinear with the a axis of the unit cell. The columns assemble into discrete layers with two distinct types of hydrogen-sized voids residing between the layers. Despite the promising architecture of the voids within the lattice of 4, the absence of genuine channels to interconnect the voids precludes the uptake of hydrogen gas, even at elevated pressures (10 bar). AM1 calculations of the structure of dimeric 4 indicate that self-recognition through hydrogen bonding depends primarily on favorable electrostatic interactions. The potential-energy surface for monomeric 4 mapped by counter-rotation of an adjacent pair of C=C-N=C torsion angles indicates that the X-ray structures of the four monomeric units are global minima with highly nonplanar conformations that are preorganized for self-recognition by hydrogen bonding. The in vacuo enthalpy of association for the dimer was calculated to be significantly exergonic (DeltaG(assoc)=-21.9 kJ mol(-1), 298 K) and in excellent agreement with that determined by 1H NMR spectroscopy in CDCl3 (DeltaG(assoc)=-16.6(4) kJ mol(-1), 298 K). Using population and bond order analyses, in conjunction with the conformation dependence of the frontier MO energies, we have been able to show that pi-electron delocalization is only marginally diminished in the nonplanar conformers of 4 and that the electronic structures of the constituent monomers of the dimer are well mixed.