Role of CHF2- and CF3‑Substituents on Molecular Arrangement in the Solid State: Experimental and Theoretical Crystal Structure Analysis of CH3/CHF2/CF3‑Substituted Benzene

The influence of CH3/CHF2/CF3-exchange on the molecular arrangement in the solid state of the low melting compounds α-toluene 1, (difluoromethyl)­benzene 2, and (trifluoromethyl)­benzene 3 was investigated by crystal structure determinations and theoretical calculations. The compounds were crystallized by in situ crystallization directly on the diffractometer and analyzed by X-ray diffraction. The crystal packing motifs were also analyzed based on ab initio quantum-chemical calculations of the intermolecular interaction energy, using the B97-D3/def2-TZVP method.