Crystal structures and hydrogen bonding in the proton-transfer salts of nicotine with 3,5-di­nitro­salicylic acid and 5-sulfosalicylic acid

The structures of the 1:1 anhydrous salts of nicotine (NIC) with 3,5-di­nitro­salicylic acid (DNSA) and 5-sulfosalicylic acid (5-SSA), namely (1R,2S)-1-methyl-2-(pyridin-3-yl)-1H-pyrrolidin-1-ium 2-carb­oxy-4,6-di­nitro­phenolate, C(10)H(15)N(2) (+)·C(7)H(3)N(2)O(7) (−), (I), and (1R,2S)-1-methyl-2-(pyridin-3-yl)-1H-pyrrolidin-1-ium 3-carb­oxy-4-hy­droxy­benzene­sulfonate, C(10)H(15)N(2) (+)·C(7)H(5)O(6)S(−), (II), are reported. The asymmetric units of both (I) and (II) comprise two independent nicotinium cations (C and D) and either two DNSA or two 5-SSA anions (A and B), respectively. One of the DNSA anions shows a 25% rotational disorder in the benzene ring system. In the crystal of (I), inter-unit pyrrolidinium N—H⋯N(pyridine) hydrogen bonds generate zigzag NIC cation chains which extend along a, while the DNSA anions are not involved in any formal inter-species hydrogen bonding but instead form π–π-associated stacks which are parallel to the NIC cation chains along a [ring-centroid separation = 3.857 (2) Å]. Weak C—H⋯O inter­actions between chain substructures give an overall three-dimensional structure. In the crystal of (II), A and B anions form independent zigzag chains with C and D cations, respectively, through carb­oxy­lic acid O—H⋯N(pyridine) hydrogen bonds. These chains, which extend along b, are pseudocentrosymmetrically related and give π–π inter­actions between the benzene rings of anions A and B and the pyridine rings of the NIC cations C and D, respectively [ring centroid separations = 3.6422 (19) and 3.7117 (19) Å]. Also present are weak C—H⋯O hydrogen-bonding inter­actions between the chains, giving an overall three-dimensional structure.