Molecular structure and barriers to internal rotation of α-naphthalenesulfonyl chloride: a study by gas-phase electron diffraction and quantum chemical calculations

Abstract

α-Naphthalenesulfonyl chloride, α-NaphSC, was studied by gas-phase electron diffraction (GED) and quantum chemical calculations (HF/6-311 + G**, HF/aug-cc-pVDZ, B3LYP/cc-pVDZ, B3LYP/cc-pVTZ, B3LYP/aug-cc-pVDZ, B3LYP/aug-cc-pVTZ, MP2/cc-pVDZ, and MP2/cc-pVTZ). The calculations predict the existence of two conformers with C1 (I) and Cs (II) symmetries. The most stable conformer I has an enantiomer. The experimental data of α-NaphSC obtained at 370(5) K could be best fitted by a C1 symmetry model indicating that only this form exists in the gas-phase. In this model the Cα–S–Cl plane deviates from the perpendicular orientation relative to the plane of the naphthalene skeleton. Under the applied experimental conditions, the mole fraction of a second less stable conformer II of α-NaphSC predicted by calculations is no more than 1 %. The following geometrical parameters of conformer I were obtained from the experiment (A and °; uncertainties are in parentheses): rh1(C–H) = 1.082(6), rh1(C–C)cp = 1.407(3), rh1(C–S) = 1.764(5), rh1(S–O)av = 1.425(3), rh1(S–Cl) = 2.051(5), ∠C–Cα–C = 122.5(1), ∠Cα–S–Cl = 101.5(10); C9–C1–S–Cl = 71.4(21). The calculated barriers to internal rotation of the sulfonyl chloride group exceed considerably the thermal energy values corresponding to the temperatures of the GED experiments. Natural bond orbitals analysis of the electron density distribution was carried out to explain the peculiarities of the molecular structure of the studied compound and the deviation from the structures of β-NaphSHal molecules and their benzene analogs.