Conformational polymorphs of 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane: pressure vs. temperature.

Directional Cl···Cl type I and II interactions govern the low-density aggregation of 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane molecules in synclinal conformation in the crystalline state at low temperature, whereas the dense molecular packing in high-pressure is achieved for the antiperiplanar conformers and electrostatically less favored Cl···Cl contacts. The mechanism of transformation between loose and dense associations involves the collapse of Cl···Cl contacts and conformational conversion.