Exploiting the σ-Hole Concept: An Infrared and Raman-Based Characterization of the S⋠⋠⋠O Chalcogen Bond between 2,2,4,4-Tetrafluoro-1,3-dithiethane and Dimethyl Ether.

In the last decade, halogen bonds, noncovalent interactions formed between positive regions in the electrostatic potential on halogen atoms, often referred to as σ-holes, and electron-rich sites, have gained a lot of interest. Recently, this interest has been expanded towards interactions with Group V and Group VI elements, giving rise to pnicogen and chalcogen bonds. Although chalcogen bonds have already shown some promising results for applications in crystallography and catalysis, experimental results characterising these noncovalent interactions remain scarce. In this combined experimental and theoretical study, original data allowing the characterization of S⋅⋅⋅O chalcogen bonds is obtained by studying the 1:1 molecular complexes between 2,2,4,4-tetrafluoro-1,3-dithiethane (C2 F4 S2 ) and dimethyl ether (DME). Ab initio calculations of the C2 F4 S2 ⋅DME dimer yield two stable chalcogen-bonded isomers, the difference being the presence or absence of secondary F⋅⋅⋅H interactions. Liquid-krypton solutions containing C2 F4 S2 and DME were studied using FTIR and Raman spectroscopy. Upon subtraction of rescaled monomer spectra, clear complex bands are observed. The observed complexation shifts agree favourably with the ab initio calculated shifts of the chalcogen-bonded complexes. The 1:1 stoichiometry of the complex is confirmed and a complexation enthalpy of -13.5(1) kJ mol-1 is found, which is in good agreement with the calculated values. A Ziegler-Rauk energy decomposition analysis revealed that electrostatic interactions prominently dominate over orbital interactions. Nevertheless, significant charge transfer occurs from the oxygen in DME to one of the sulfur atoms in C2 F4 S2 and the carbon along the extension of the chalcogen bond.

Effect of Fluorination on the Competition of Halogen Bonding and Hydrogen Bonding: Complexes of Fluoroiodomethane with Dimethyl Ether and Trimethylamine.

To further rationalize the competition between halogen and hydrogen bonding, a combined experimental and theoretical study on the weakly bound molecular complexes formed between the combined halogen bond/hydrogen bond donor fluoroiodomethane and the Lewis bases dimethyl ether and trimethylamine (in standard and fully deuterated form) is presented. The experimental data are obtained by recording infrared and Raman spectra of mixtures of the compounds in liquid krypton, at temperatures between 120 and 156 K. The experiments are supported by ab initio calculations at the MP2/aug-cc-pVDZ-PP level, statistical thermodynamics and Monte Carlo free energy perturbation calculations. For the mixtures containing fluoroiodomethane and dimethyl ether a hydrogen-bonded complex with an experimental complexation enthalpy of -7.0(2) kJ mol-1 is identified. Only a single weak spectral feature is observed which can be tentatively assigned to the halogen-bonded complex. For the mixtures involving trimethylamine, both halogen- and hydrogen-bonded complexes are observed, the experimental complexation enthalpies being -12.5(1) and -9.6(2) kJ mol-1 respectively. To evaluate the influence of fluorination on the competition between halogen and hydrogen bonding, the results obtained for fluoroiodomethane are compared with those of a previous study involving difluoroiodomethane.

Rotational Study of Dimethyl Ether-Chlorotrifluoroethylene: Lone Pair···π Interaction Links the Two Subunits.

The rotational spectra of two isotopologues of chlorotrifluoroethylene-dimethyl ether show that the two constituent molecules are held together by a lone pair···π interaction. The ether oxygen is linked to the (CF2) carbon atom, with a C-O distance of 2.908 Å.

N lone-pair···π interaction: a rotational study of chlorotrifluoroethylene···ammonia.

The rotational spectra of four isotopologues of the adduct C2F3Cl-NH3 show that NH3 is bound to the partner molecule through a (N)lone-pair···π interaction. Ammonia is located in proximity to the C2 atom (the one linked to two fluorine atoms), with the C2···N distance = 2.987(2) Å. The nuclear hyperfine structure due to the quadrupole coupling effects of (35)Cl/(37)Cl and (14)N nuclei has been fully resolved. The (14)N quadrupole coupling constants allow estimating the effective orientation of NH3 in the complex.

Expanding Lone Pair···π Interactions to Nonaromatic Systems and Nitrogen Bases: Complexes of C2F3X (X = F, Cl, Br, I) and TMA-d9.

The molecular electrostatic potential surface of unsaturated, locally electron-deficient molecules shows a positive region perpendicular to (a part of) the molecular framework. In recent years it has been shown both theoretically and experimentally that molecules are able to form noncovalent interactions with Lewis bases through this π-hole. When studying unsaturated perfluorohalogenated molecules containing a higher halogen atom, a second electropositive region is also observed near the halogen atom. This region, often denoted as a σ-hole, allows the molecules to interact with Lewis bases and form a halogen bond. To experimentally characterize the competition between both these noncovalent interactions, Fourier transform infrared and Raman spectra of liquefied noble gas solutions containing perfluorohalogenated ethylene derivatives (C2F3X; X = F, Cl, Br, or I) and trimethylamine(-d9) were investigated. Analysis of the spectra shows that in mixed solutions of trimethylamine(-d9) and C2F4 or C2F3Cl lone pair···π complex is present, while evidence for halogen-bonded complex is found in solutions containing trimethylamine(-d9) and C2F3Cl, C2F3Br, or C2F3I. For all species observed, complexation enthalpies were determined, the values varying between -4.9(1) and -24.4 kJ mol(-1).

Competition of C(sp²)-X···O halogen bonding and lone pair···π interactions: cryospectroscopic study of the complexes of C2F3X (X = F, Cl, Br, and I) and dimethyl ether.

Inspection of the electrostatic potential of C2F3X (X = F, Cl, Br, and I) revealed a second electropositive region in the immediate vicinity of the C═C double bond apart from the σ hole of chlorine, bromine, and iodine, leading to C(sp(2))-X···Y halogen bonding, through which complexes stabilized by so-called lone pair···π interactions can be formed. Consequently, the experimental studies for the complexes of dimethyl ether with C2F3X (X = F, Cl, Br, and I) not only allowed one to experimentally characterize and rationalize the effects of hybridization on halogen bonding but, for the first time, also allowed the competition of C-X···Y halogen bonding and lone pair···π interactions to be studied at thermodynamic equilibrium. Analysis of the infrared and Raman spectra reveals that in the cryosolutions of dimethyl ether and C2F3I, solely the halogen-bonded complex is present, whereas C2F3Br and C2F3Cl give rise to a lone pair···π bonded complex as well as a halogen-bonded complex. Mixtures of dimethyl ether with C2F4 solely yield a lone pair···π bonded complex. The experimentally derived complexation enthalpies for the halogen bonded complexes are found to be -14.2(5) kJ mol(-1) for C2F3I·DME and -9.3(5) kJ mol(-1) for C2F3Br·DME. For the complexes of C2F3Cl with dimethyl ether, no experimental complexation enthalpy could be obtained, whereas the C2F4·DME complex has a complexation enthalpy of -5.5(3) kJ mol(-1). The observed trends have been rationalized with the aid of an interaction energy decomposition analysis (EDA) coupled to a Natural Orbital for Chemical Valence (NOCV) analysis and also using the noncovalent interaction index method.

Microwave, r0 Structural Parameters, Conformational Stability, and Vibrational Assignment of (Chloromethyl)fluorosilane.

The FT-microwave spectrum (6.5-26 GHz) of (chloromethyl)fluorosilane (ClCH2-SiH2F) has been recorded and 250 transitions for the parent species along with (13)C, (37)Cl, (29)Si, and (30)Si isotopologues have been assigned for trans conformer. Infrared spectra (3100 to 400 cm(-1)) of gas, solid, and the variable temperature (-100 to -60 °C) studies of the infrared spectra of the sample dissolved in xenon have been recorded. Additionally, the variable temperature (-153 to -133 °C) studies of the Raman spectra of the sample dissolved in krypton have been recorded. The enthalpy difference between the trans and gauche conformers in xenon solutions has been determined to be 109 ± 15 cm(-1) (1.47 ± 0.16 kJ mol(-1)), and in krypton solution, the enthalpy difference has been determined to be 97 ± 16 cm(-1) (1.16 ± 0.19 kJ mol(-1)) with the trans conformer as the more stable form. Approximately 46 ± 2% of the trans form is present at ambient temperature. By utilizing the microwave rotational constants of five isotopologues for trans and the structural parameters predicted from MP2(full)/6-311+G(d,p) calculations, adjusted r0 parameters have been obtained for trans conformer. The r0 structural parameter values for the trans form are for the heavy atom distances (Å): Si-F = 1.608 (3); C-Cl = 1.771 (3); Si-C = 1.884 (3); and angles (deg): ∠FSiC = 108.9 (5); ∠ClCSi = 104.9 (5). The results are discussed and compared to some related molecules.

Tuning the halogen/hydrogen bond competition: a spectroscopic and conceptual DFT study of some model complexes involving CHF2I.

Insight into the key factors driving the competition of halogen and hydrogen bonds is obtained by studying the affinity of the Lewis bases trimethylamine (TMA), dimethyl ether (DME), and methyl fluoride (MF) towards difluoroiodomethane (CHF(2) I). Analysis of the infrared and Raman spectra of solutions in liquid krypton containing mixtures of TMA and CHF(2) I and of DME and CHF(2) I reveals that for these Lewis bases hydrogen and halogen-bonded complexes appear simultaneously. In contrast, only a hydrogen-bonded complex is formed for the mixtures of CHF(2) I and MF. The complexation enthalpies for the C-H⋅⋅⋅Y hydrogen-bonded complexes with TMA, DME, and MF are determined to be -14.7(2), -10.5(5) and -5.1(6) kJ mol(-1), respectively. The values for the C-I⋅⋅⋅Y halogen-bonded isomers are -19.0(3) kJ mol(-1) for TMA and -9.9(8) kJ mol(-1) for DME. Generalization of the observed trends suggests that, at least for the bases studied here, softer Lewis bases such as TMA favor halogen bonding, whereas harder bases such as MF show a substantial preference for hydrogen bonding.

Taking the halogen bonding-hydrogen bonding competition one step further: complexes of difluoroiodomethane with trimethylphosphine, dimethyl sulfide and chloromethane.

To rationalize the driving factors in the competition of halogen bonding and hydrogen bonding, the complexes of the combined halogen-/hydrogen-bond donor difluoroiodomethane with the Lewis bases trimethylphosphine, dimethyl sulfide and chloromethane are studied. For all Lewis bases, ab initio calculations lead to halogen- and hydrogen-bonded complexes. Fourier transform-IR experiments involving solutions of mixtures of difluoroiodomethane with trimethylphosphine(-d9) or dimethyl sulfide(-d6) in liquid krypton confirm the coexistence of a halogen-bonded and hydrogen-bonded complex. Also for solutions containing chloromethane, evidence of the formation of binary associations is found, but no definitive assignment of the multiple complex bands could be made. Using van't Hoff plots, the experimental complexation enthalpies for the halogen- and hydrogen-bonded complex of difluoroiodomethane with trimethylphosphine are determined to be -15.4 (4) and -10.5 (3) kJ mol-1, respectively, while for the halogen- and hydrogen-bonded complexes with dimethyl sulfide, the values are -11.3 (5) and -7.7 (6) kJ mol-1, respectively. The experimental observation that for both trimethylphospine and dimethyl sulfide the halogen-bonded complex is more stable than the hydrogen-bonded complex supports the finding that softer Lewis bases tend to favor iodine halogen bonding over hydrogen bonding.