Échelles pKHB et enthalpique du pouvoir accepteur de liaison hydrogène de thioéthers, thiols et disulfures

Abstract

The hydrogen bond acceptor (HBA) strength of 31 tetrahedral sulfur bases (thioethers, thiols, disulfides) has been measured by IR spectrometry from: (i) their 1:1 complexation constants with 4-fluorophenol in CCl4 at 25 °C (the pKHB scale); (ii) their HB enthalpies; and (iii) the frequency shifts, Δν(OH), of the ν(OH) band of 4-fluorophenol hydrogen bonded to sulfur. The comparison of the pKHB, ΔH°, and Δν(OH) scales points to their distinctive features. The HBA strength depends on: (i) the nature of the atomic site: oxygen bases are always stronger than sulfur bases, in agreement with the hard and soft acids and bases principle; (ii) the functionality of this atom (for sulfur bases: phosphine sulfur > thioamide > thioketone > thioether > thiol > isothiocyanate ~ disulfide); and (iii) the substituent effects on the function. The main substituent effects are: (i) the polarizability effect of alkyl groups; (ii) the field-inductive effect; (iii) the resonance effect; and (iv) the cyclization effect, which changes the percentage of the s character of sulfur lone pairs. In addition to the attachment to the sulfur atom, IR spectra show the attachment of 4-fluorophenol to the chlorine of MeSCH2Cl and MeSCH2CH2Cl, and the interaction to the π cloud of PhSMe, Ph2S, PhCH2SMe, and EtSCH=CH2. Key words: hydrogen bond, thioethers, thiols, disulfides, pKHB scale.