Systematic Construction of Ternary Cocrystals by Orthogonal and Robust Hydrogen and Halogen Bonds

A carefully designed strategy is presented for the construction of ternary cocrystals, based on the orthogonality of two supramolecular interaction modes: hydrogen bonding between crown ethers and thioureas and the halogen bonding between thioureas and perfluorohalocarbons. Tested on a set comprising two crown ethers, two thioureas and five halogen bond donors, the strategy resulted in a high, 75% success rate, with 15/20 component combinations yielding at least one cocrystal. Crystal structure analysis revealed the interplay between the hydrogen and halogen bonding motifs, also shedding light on the variables affecting their formation.