Intermolecular interactions in nonorganic crystal engineering

The utilization of noncovalent interactions to construct molecular crystals is evaluated in the context of inorganic and organometallic crystal engineering. The attention is focused on hydrogen-bonding interactions involving metal complexes in which the metal atoms participate in the bonding either directly or as ancillary systems. The role of ionic charges is discussed. It is shown, inter alia, that reproducible and transferable crystal synthesis strategies based on charge-assisted hydrogen bonds can be devised to build periodical supermolecules.