Solid-state NMR study of halogen-bonded adducts.

Abstract

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy offers unique insights into halogen bonds. NMR parameters such as chemical shifts, quadrupolar coupling constants, J coupling constants, and dipolar coupling constants are in principle sensitive to the formation and local structure of a halogen bond. Carrying out NMR experiments on halogen-bonded adducts in the solid state may provide several advantages over solution studies including (1) the absence of solvent which can interact with halogen bond donor sites and complicate spectral interpretation, (2) the lack of a need for single crystals or even long-range crystalline order, and (3) the potential to measure complete NMR interaction tensors rather than simply their isotropic values. In this chapter, we provide an overview of the NMR interactions and experiments which are relevant to the study of nuclei which are often found in halogen bonds (RX···Y) including (13)C, (35/37)Cl, (79/81)Br, (127)I, (77)Se, and (14/15)N. Experimental examples based on iodoperfluorobenzene halides, bis(trimethylammonium)alkane diiodide, and selenocyanate complexes, as well as haloanilinium halides, are discussed. Of particular interest is the sensitivity of the isotropic chemical shifts, the chemical shift tensor spans, and the halide nuclear electric quadrupolar coupling tensors to the halogen bond geometry in such compounds. Technical limitations associated with the NMR spectroscopy of covalently-bonded halogens are underlined.