The conformational distribution of 2-cyanobenzaldehyde and 3-cyanobenzaldehyde in solution and in the vapor

Abstract

The 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of 2-cyanobenzaldehyde (2CNB) and 3-cyanobenzaldehyde (3CNB) in CS2/C6D12 and acetone-d6 solutions at 300 K yield precise stereospecific long-range proton–proton coupling constants. These are used to establish the conformational population of the o-cis and o-trans conformers of these relatively polar molecules. For example, the fractional o-cis population of 2CNB changes from 0.12(4) in CS2/C6D12 to 0.46(6) in acetone-d6, whereas that of 3CNB is 0.48(2) in both solvents. Extrapolation to the vapor phase, using a dielectric model, implies a negligible concentration of the o-cis conformer of 2CNB and a roughly 50% abundance of each conformer of 3CNB. Computations at various levels of molecular orbital theory provide estimates of the rotational barrier of the aldehyde moiety and confirm the planar structure of each conformer. The geometries of three conformers are given as obtained from the 6-31G MO basis and may be useful to molecular spectroscopists. Theoretical and experimental dipole moments are interpolated to yield estimates of their magnitudes for the four planar conformers. Somewhat less precise 1H nmr spectral parameters (than for the above solutions) are also obtained for dilute solutions in benzene-d6 at 300 K. The conformational distributions based on these parameters are compared with their only other measurement, based on dipolar moments in benzene at 298 K. Good agreement between the results of the two methods is found for 3CNB but not for 2CNB. It is suggested that specific interactions occur between benzene solvent and solute molecules, particularly for 3CNB, for which these interactions stabilize the conformer having a low dipole moment. Remarkable changes in the intraring proton–proton coupling constants occur in going from CS2/C6D12 to acetone-d6 solution. Key words: 2- and 3-cyanobenzaldehyde (2CNB and 3CNB): 1H NMR, conformations, long-range spin–spin coupling constants, MO computations.