Structures, vibrational spectra and microbiological activity of 5-methylbenzotriazole tautomers stabilized by N-H···N intermolecular hydrogen bonds

Abstract

Three tautomeric forms (1H-, 2H-, 3H-) of 5-methylbenzotriazole (5MeBTA) and the tetramer, which includes the 1H-5MeBTA and 3H-5MeBTA tautomers connected by N3−H⋅⋅⋅N3 and N1−H⋅⋅⋅N2 intermolecular hydrogen bonds, have been studied by density functional theory (DFT) using B3LYP, B3LYP-D3 and ωB97XD methods combined with the 6–31++G(d,p) basis set. Calculations for the tetramer have revealed that intermolecular N3⋅⋅⋅N3 distances range from 2.881 to 2.851 Å, while the N1⋅⋅⋅N2 distances vary between 2.965 and 2.915 Å. These distances are very similar to those reported for the crystal of 5MeBTA (R. K. Belter, F. R. Fronczek, CCDC 1971683, 2019). The theoretical Raman and infrared spectra of the tetramer are in a very good agreement with the FT-Raman and FT-IR spectra of 5MeBTA in the solid state, measured in this work. A detailed interpretation of the experimental vibrational spectra has been made on the basis of the calculated potential energy distribution (PED). Microbiological studies in vitro were conducted for 5MeBTA and benzotriazole (BTA) against six bacterial strains (E. coli, K. pneumoniae, P. aeruginosa, B. subtilis, L. monocytogenes and S. aureus) and two fungal strains (A. niger and C. albicans). The results have shown that the substitution by the methyl group at the C-5 atom of BTA leads to an increase in activity against tested strains, in comparison to BTA. For 5MeBTA, the inhibition zones for bacteria and fungi range from 12 mm to 20 mm, and from 13 mm to 24 mm, respectively. The title compound has revealed particularly strong activity against A. niger, C. albicans and L. monocytogenes (with inhibition zones ≥ 20 mm).