IR spectra, conformational lability, and intermolecular interactions in long-chain aliphatic compounds

Abstract

Investigations of the conformational lability and intermolecular interactions in long-chain aliphatic compounds (LACs), namely, in carboxylic acid derivatives (alkyl- and alkoxybenzoic acids; alkylcyclohexanecarboxylic acids and their completely or partially fluoroalkyl-substituted derivatives), 4-cyano-4′-p-alkoxybiphenyls, 4-cyano-4′-p-alkylbiphenyls, and cholesterol p-n-butyloxybenzoate are reviewed. Major attention is paid to experimental and theoretical IR spectroscopy data. Differential thermal analysis, polarization microscopy, and X-ray diffraction data are also taken into account. A more detailed treatment is presented on IR spectrum simulation based on data about the conformational lability of molecules and their specific (H-bonding) intermolecular interactions. The first mechanism is responsible for the conformational type of polymorphism in LACs and for the structure of the latter in solid crystal (SC) and liquid crystal (LC) states and in isotropic liquids (ILs). The second mechanism complements the structure-forming aspect of polymorphism in carboxylates, which is due to a rearrangement of hydrogen bond systems in H-complexes during polymorphic transitions to the LC and IL states. Both mechanisms are reflected in IR absorption spectra. A more adequate interpretation is possible in order to explain the many spectral features associated with the structure of LAC polymorphs and their H-complexes if these mechanisms are taken into account.