The reaction of 3,5-diphenyl-1,2-dithiolium-4-olate with aniline: the crystal structure of 1-phenylimino-2-phenylamino-3-phenylindene
3,5-Diphenyl-1,2-dithiolium-4-olate (1) reacts with aniline to form 1-phenylimino-2-phenylamino-3-phenylindene (3a). Under suitable conditions, 6-phenylbenzo[b]indeno[1,2-e]-1,2-thiazine is also formed. These structures are confirmed by alternative syntheses. The molecular structure of 3a has been determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction. Compound 3a crystallizes in the monoclinic space group C2/c with unit cell dimensions a = 20.777(3) Å, b = 6.130(3) Å, c = 31.327(3) Å, 3 = 99.59(1)°, and Z = 8. The structure was solved by direct methods and refined by least squares to a final R = 0.055. The molecular structure of 3a shows the three phenyl containing substituents to have the planes of their ring systems tilted between 40° and 60° from the plane of the indene system due to steric repulsions.