(E,E)-1,1⁰-[1,2-Bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethane-1,2-diyl]bis(phenyldiazene) revisited: threefold configurational disorder of (S,S), (R,R) and (S,R) isomers, a detailed critique

Crystal structures described as concomitant triclinic (I) and monoclinic (II) polymorphs of meso-(E,E)-1,1⁰-[1,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethane-1,2-diyl]bis(phenyldiazene) [Mohamed et al. (2016). Acta Cryst. C72, 57–62] have been re-investigated. The published model for II was distorted due to forcing the symmetry of space group C2/c on an incomplete structure model. It is shown here to be a likely three-component superposition of S,S and R,R enantiomers with a lesser amount of the meso form. A detailed analysis of how the improbable distortion in the published model aroused suspicion and the subsequent construction of undistorted chemically and crystallographically plausible alternatives having the symmetry of Cc and C2/c is presented. For the sake of completeness, an improved model for the triclinic P1 structure of the meso isomer I, revised to include a minor disorder component, is also given.