Intramolecular N−H...O hydrogen bonding, quinoid effect, and partial π-electron delocalization in N-aryl Schiff bases of 2-hydroxy-1-naphthaldehyde: the crystal structures of planar N-(α-naphthyl)- and N-(β-naphthyl)-2-oxy-1-naphthaldimine

Abstract

The structures of N-(α-naphthyl)-2-oxy-1-naphthaldimine1 and N-(β-naphthyl)-2-oxy-1-naphthaldimine2 have been investigated by X-ray analysis and by spectroscopic methods. Crystals of1 are monoclinic, space groupPn, with cell dimensionsa=10.823(3),b=5.826(2),c=11.899 (3) Å, and β=99.66(3)°. Compound2 crystallizes in the orthorhombic space groupPca2₁ witha=17.564(3),b=6.314(2), andc=13.663(4) Å. The IR spectra exhibited neither N−H nor O−H stretching frequencies. The existence of theintramolecular hydrogen bonding of N−H...O type was predicted by spectroscopic experiment but unequivocally established by diffraction experiment in both cases1 and2. The molecules1 and2 are significantly planar with considerable quinoid effect at the 2-oxy-naphthaldimine moiety. Although essentially planar, both molecules1 and2 show the delocalization of π-electrons only in the central part of the molecules including C=N imino group with pendent ring carbon atoms.Intermolecular attractions in the crystals belong to weak van der Waals interactions-between discrete planar molecules spatially arranged into the expectedherringbone motif in the solid state.