Synthesis, crystal structure and Hirshfeld surface analysis of 3-(4-fluorophenyl)-2-formyl-7-methylimidazo[1,2-a]pyridin-1-ium chloride monohydrate

In the title salt, C15H12FN2O+·Cl−·H2O, the imidazo[1,2-a]pyridin-1-ium ring system of the cation is almostly planar [maximum deviaition = −0.047 (2) Å for the ring C atom with the attached arene ring] and forms a dihedral angle of 61.81 (6)° with the plane of the fluorophenyl ring. In the crystal, water molecules form an R24(8) motif parallel to the (100) plane by bonding with the chloride ions via O—H...Cl hydrogen bonds. The cations are connected along the b axis via N—H...O hydrogen bonds involving the O atoms of water molecules, and C—H...O, C—H...Cl and π–π interactions [centroid-to-centroid distance = 3.6195 (8) Å] form layers parallel to the (100) plane. Furthermore, these layers are connected via π–π interactions [centroid-to-centroid distance = 3.8051 (9) Å] that further consolidate the crystal structure.