Synthesis, crystal structure and Hirshfeld surface analysis of 3-(4-fluorophenyl)-2-formyl-7-methylimidazo[1,2-a]pyridin-1-ium chloride monohydrate

In the title salt, C15H12FN2O+center dot Cl-center dot H2O, the imidazo[1,2-a]pyridin-1-ium ring system of the cation is almostly planar [maximum deviaition = -0.047 (2) angstrom for the ring C atom with the attached arene ring] and forms a dihedral angle of 61.81 (6)degrees with the plane of the fluorophenyl ring. In the crystal, water molecules form an R-2(4) (8) motif parallel to the (100) plane by bonding with the chloride ions via O-H...Cl hydrogen bonds. The cations are connected along the b axis via N-H center dot center dot center dot O hydrogen bonds involving the O atoms of water molecules, and C-H center dot center dot center dot O, C-H center dot center dot center dot Cl and pi-pi interactions [centroid-to-centroid distance = 3.6195 (8) angstrom] form layers parallel to the (100) plane. Furthermore, these layers are connected via pi-pi interactions [centroid-to-centroid distance = 3.8051 (9) angstrom] that further consolidate the crystal structure.