Conformational study of a strained tolanophane by dynamic 1H NMR spectroscopy and computational methods

Abstract

The existence of a short C–H ⋯ π (alkyl–alkyne) interaction in the structure of a strained and relatively rigid tolanophane is expected to hinder the rotation about the C–C sp3 single bond. Variable-temperature NMR experiments (performed in three solvents, CDCl3, THF-d8, and acetone-d6) and ab initio density functional calculations were carried out to investigate its dynamic nature. An energy barrier of 48.6 kJ/mol is determined at coalescence (210 K) with acetone-d6 which is in good agreement with calculation result (54 kJ/mol).