INFRARED SPECTRA OF 2,6-DIMETHYL-4-PYRONE COMPLEXES

Abstract

The infrared spectra of 2,6-dimethyl-4-pyrone in solution, and in complexes with HgCl2, ZnCl2, BF3, SbCl5, and HBr have been recorded. A band at 1639 cm−1 in the free pyrone moves to progressively lower frequencies in the complexes as the Lewis acid strength increases, identifying this band as the carbonyl stretching frequency and the donor site as the carbonyl group. A higher-frequency band, at 1678 cm−1 in the free pyrone, moves to lower frequency on complex formation, but to a much smaller extent, and is to be identified with a stretching mode of the ring. The site of protonation in 2,6-dimethyl-4-pyrone salts has been unequivocally shown to be the carbonyl oxygen atom.