Conformational restriction involving formyl CH…F hydrogen bonds.

Abstract

The title of this post paraphrases E. J. Corey’s article in 1997 (DOI: 10.1016/S0040-4039(96)02248-4) which probed the origins of conformation restriction in aldehydes. The proposal was of (then) unusual hydrogen bonding between the O=C-H…F-B groups. Here I explore whether the NCI (non-covalent-interaction) method can be used to cast light on this famous example of how unusual interactions might mediate selectivity in organic reactions.