Conformational analysis and vibrational spectroscopy of a paracetamol analogous: 2-Bromo-N-(2-hydroxy-5-methylphenyl)-2-methylpropanamide

Abstract

We conducted an experimental and quantum chemical investigation of the electronic properties and vibrational mode couplings of a structure analogous to a paracetamol (acetaminophen): 2-Bromo-N-(2-hydroxy-5-methylphenyl)-2-methylpropanamide. The spectroscopic and electronic properties were carried out with the PBE1PBE functional, and G3MP2 was used to predict the heat of formation. Among the E/Z stereoisomers, we showed that the energy gap ranged from 3 to 10 kcal mol−1; the relative stability among the regioisomers (involving the different positions of the methyl and hydroxyl groups) exhibited energy differences lower than 5 kcal mol−1. A topological analysis using the Quantum Theory of Atoms in Molecules (QTAIM) was performed to determine the intramolecular hydrogen bonds that govern the configuration changes, and the Natural Bond Orbital method was used to estimate the interplay between the steric and electrostatic interactions that stabilized each isomer. It was also estimated the influence of the population methodology in to predict the atomic charge distribution for the title compound.