Anion-controlled assemblies of C–HO hydrogen bonded grid, stair or bilayer structures by L-shaped pyridinium saltsCCDC reference numbers 791678–791681. For crystallographic data in CIF or other electronic format see DOI: 10.1039/c0ce00610f.

A series of 1-carbamoylmethyl-3-ethoxycarbonylmethylpyridinium salts with different anions (PF6−(1), BF4−(2), OTf−(3) and Br−(4)) have been synthesized and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The L-shaped pyridinium cation moieties provide rich C–H donors and serve as building blocks to form grid structures with PF6−and BF4−, a zig-zag stair structure with OTf−and a bilayer structure with Br−anions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]