Reactivity of bis(cyclohexylammonium) 4-nitrophenylphosphate with SnMe3Cl. X-ray structure of 4-NO2C6H4PO4(SnMe3)(2)center dot H2O

The reaction of bis(cyclohexylammonium) 4-nitrophenylphosphate with Me3SnCl (1:2) under reflux in ethanol yielded the title compound 4-NO2C6H4PO4(SnMe3)(2)center dot H2O (1). The X-ray crystallographic analysis achieved on single crystals obtained by slow evaporation at room temperature revealed the formation of an unexpected supramolecular coordination network. The elementary building block can be viewed as two Me3Sn moieties linked by a bridging 4-nitrophenylphosphate ligand. The two tin atoms are five-coordinated and describe a trans-Me3SnO2 geometry in a trigonal bipyramidal arrangement. However, the Sn atoms are distinct, exhibiting two different environments. Thus, one is linked to two axial oxygen atoms from two distinct phosphato groups, whereas the other is bound to one phosphato oxygen atom and to a water molecule. From a supramolecular point of view, the combination of the tridentate binding mode of 4-NO2C6H4PO4 and the additional formation of intermolecular hydrogen bonding interactions between NO2/H2O and PO4/H-2 O groups gives rise to a three-dimensional lattice network.