The impact of the pi-electron conjugation on (15)N, (13)C and (1)H NMR chemical shifts in push-pull benzothiazolium salts. Experimental and theoretical study.

The (15)N as well as (13)C and (1)H chemical shifts of eight push-pull benzothiazolium iodides with various pi-conjugated chains between dimethylamino group and benzothiazolium moiety have been determined by NMR spectroscopy at the natural-abundance level of all nuclei in DMSO-d(6) solution. In general, the quaternary benzothiazolium nitrogen is more shielded [delta((15)N-3) vary between - 241.3 and - 201.9 ppm] with respect to parent 3-methylbenzothiazolium iodide [delta((15)N-3) = - 183.8 ppm], depending on the length and constitution of the pi-conjugated bridge. A larger variation in (15)N chemical shifts is observed on dimethylamino nitrogen, which covers the range of - 323.3 to - 257.2 ppm. The effect of pi-conjugation degree has a less pronounced influence on (13)C and (1)H chemical shifts. Experimental data are interpreted by means of density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Reasonable agreement between theoretical and experimental (15)N NMR chemical shifts was found, particularly when performing calculations with hybrid exchange-correlation functionals. A better accord with experiment is achieved by utilizing a polarizable continuum model (PCM) along with an explicit treatment of hydrogen-bonding between the solute and the water present in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO). Finally, (13)C and (1)H NMR spectra were computed and analysed in order to compare them with available experimental data.