Protonation of Tetrapropoxy-4-<i>tert</i>-butylcalix[4]arene: NMR Study of Interaction and Probable Structures of the Product

Abstract

Using 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy, the interaction of tetrapropoxy-p-tert-butyl-calix[4]arene (1) with H3O+ ions produced by hydrogen bis(1,2-dicarbollyl) cobaltate (HDCC) and traces of water was studied in nitrobenzene-d 5. It was shown that 1 readily forms an equimolecular complex with H3O+. The equilibrium constant K of its formation is 2.6 at 296 K. Exchange between bound and free 1 is fast even under mild excess of HDCC, the correlation time τex being about 0.13 ms. NMR shows that H3O+ is bound to the aryl-oxygen atoms and this binding forces the calixarene cup to adopt a more open and symmetrical conformation. This conclusion is in full accord with high precision quantum DFT calculations which find one structure of the complex corresponding to a global energy minimum, in which the H3O+ ion is bound to three of the oxygen atoms by strong hydrogen bonds and to the remaining oxygen by two weaker hydrogen bonds. The calixarene part is forced into a C4 symmetrical opened form. When stored for weeks, the complex gradually transforms into other forms, most probably its hydrates, according to spectral evidence and DFT calculations.