The assessment of intramolecular hydrogen bonding in ortho-substituted anilines by an NMR method

We describe the Delta log P method for the assessment of intramolecular hydrogen bonds (IMHBs), and show that it is not a very general method of distinguishing between molecules in which there is an IMHB and molecules in which there is no IMHB. The 'double' Delta log P method of Shalaeva et at is a much more reliable method for the assessment of IMHB but requires the synthesis of a model compound and the determination of no less than four water-solvent partition coefficients. In addition, it is difficult to apply to compounds that contain more than one hydrogen bond acidic group capable of IMHB. We then describe our NMR method of assessing IMHB, based on H-1 NMR chemical shifts in solvents DMSO and CDCI3. We have determined H-1 NMR chemical shifts for a number of ortho-substituted anilines and show that the only compound we have studied that forms an IMHB is methyl 2-methylaminobenzoate though there is no IMHB present in methyl 2-aminobenzoate. This apparently anomalous result is supported by both MM and ab initio calculations. The NMR method is much simpler and less time consuming than other methods for the assessment of IMHB. It provides a quantitative assessment of IMHB and can be applied to molecules with more than one hydrogen bond acidic group. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.