Conformation of the azo bond and its influence on the molecular and crystal structures, IR and Raman spectra, and electron properties of 6-methyl-3,5-dinitro-2-[(E)-phenyldiazenyl]pyridine – Quantum chemical DFT calculations

Abstract

The crystal and molecular structures of 6-methyl-3,5-dinitro-2-[(E)-phenyldiazenyl]pyridine have been determined by X-ray diffraction and quantum chemical DFT calculations. The crystal is monoclinic, space group Cc (No. 9) with Z=4 with the unit cell parameters: a=12.083(7), b=12.881(6), c=8.134(3) Å and β=97.09(5)°. The azo-bridge appears in the trans conformation in which C2-N2-N2′-C1′ torsion angle takes a value −178.6(3)°, whereas the dihedral angle between the planes of the phenyl and pyridine rings is 3.5(2)°. The IR and Raman spectra measured in the temperature range 80–350K and quantum chemical calculations with the use of B3LYP/6-311G(2d,2p) approach confirmed the trans configuration of the azo-bridge as the most stable energetically and allowed determination of the energy other virtual structures. The observed effects were used in the discussion of vibrational dynamics of the studied compound. The energy gap between cis and trans conformers equals to 1.054eV (0.03873 Hartree). The electron absorption and emission spectra have been measured and analyzed on the basis of DFT calculations. The life time of the excited state is 12μs and the Stokes shift is close to 5470cm−1.