Molecularly Tuning the Radicaloid N-H···O═C Hydrogen Bond.

Substituent effects on the open shell N-H···O═C hydrogen-bond has never been reported. This study examines how 12 functional groups composed of electron donating groups (EDG), halogen atoms and electron withdrawing groups (EWG) affect the N-H···O═C hydrogen-bond properties in a six-membered cyclic model system of O═C(Y)-CH═C(X)N-H. It is found that group effects on this open shell H-bonding system are significant and have predictive trends when X = H and Y is varied. When Y is an EDG, the N-H···O═C hydrogen-bond is strengthened; and when Y is an EWG, the bond is weakened; whereas the variation in electronic properties of X group do not exhibit a significant impact upon the hydrogen bond strength. The structural impact of the stronger N-H···O═C hydrogen-bond are (1) shorter H and O distance, r(H···O) and (2) a longer N-H bond length, r(NH). The stronger N-H···O═C hydrogen-bond also acts to pull the H and O in toward one another which has an effect on the bond angles. Our findings show that there is a linear relationship between hydrogen-bond angle and N-H···O═C hydrogen-bond energy in this unusual H-bonding system. In addition, there is a linear correlation of the r(H···O) and the hydrogen bond energy. A short r(H···O) distance corresponds to a large hydrogen bond energy when Y is varied. The observed trends and findings have been validated using three different methods (UB3LYP, M06-2X, and UMP2) with two different basis sets.

Structure and emission studies of dimorphic crystals of [PtBr2(5,5'-bis(CF3CH2OCH2)-2,2'-bpy)] (1).

The yellow (1y) and orange (1o) crystalline polymorphs of [PtBr2(5,5'-bis(CF3CH2OCH2)-2,2'-bipyridine)] exhibit surprisingly short nearest neighbour Pt···Pt separations of 3.526 Å and 3.590 Å, respectively, at 295 K. Both distances are much shorter than those found in structures of the unsubstituted [PtBr2(2,2'-bipyridine)] analogue. Consistent with a linear chain structure in 1o and dimer formation in 1y, both solids exhibit emission spectra shifted to much longer wavelengths than that exhibited by the monomer in a low-temperature glass. Furthermore, the emission spectra of 1o and 1y shift to even longer wavelengths as the temperature decreases and the Pt···Pt separations contract. Till now delocalized emission of this type has been considered to be restricted to [PtCl2(diimine)] systems and implausible in PtBr2-containing analogues for steric reasons. Ironically, in the system at hand the bulky 5,5'-substituents apparently promote delocalization of the emission by forming a network of hydrogen-bonding-like C-H···F-C interactions that help shape the packing.

Molecular tuning of the closed shell C-H···F-C hydrogen bond.

The existence of the rare six-membered and intramolecular C-H···F-C hydrogen-bond has been experimentally proven in the gas phase and in the solid state recently. However, the effect of the substituents on this C-H···F-C hydrogen-bond system has never been reported. In view of the importance of this type of C-H···F-C H-bonding whose weak interaction has been found critical in nanotechnology and biological systems, the nine functional groups composed of electron donating and electron withdrawing groups are inserted into this C-H···F-C interaction to study the group effect on the hydrogen bonding. Group effects on this C-H···F-C H-bonding system have been found, and their effects on the H-bonding system have been found to be tunable.