Complex mechanism of relaxation in solid chloroxylenol (antibacterial/antifungal agent) studied by ¹H NMR spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations.

Molecular relaxation in antibacterial/antifungal agent: chloroxylenol (4-chloro-3,5-dimethylphenol, PCMX) in the solid state was studied by the (1)H NMR and quantum chemistry calculations. The temperature dependencies of the proton spin-lattice relaxation time (T1) in the ranges 15-273 K (at 24.667 MHz), 77-295 K (at 15 MHz), and 112-291 K at 90 MHz and the second moment (M2) of (1)H NMR resonant line in the range 106-380 K were measured. The two minima in the temperature dependence of T1 revealed two activation processes, whereas the M2 dependence in the studied range was quite flat and revealed the only significant reduction at 380 K. The low temperature part of T1(T) dependence indicated the occurrence of two processes characteristic of methyl bearing solids; the quantum mechanics governed incoherent tunneling (responsible for the low temperature flattening of T1) and the classical Arrhenius dependence governed hindered rotation (related to the wide low temperature minimum of 0.066 s at 57 K, 24.667 MHz). The 2D potential energy surface obtained using DFT/B3LYP/6-311++G(2d,p) calculations revealed the inequivalence of methyl groups and the lack of their interplay/coupling. The activation energies of classical hindered rotation are 3.35 and 2.5 kJ/mol, whereas temperatures at which the proton tunneling T(tun) finally ceases are 52 and 63 K, for inequivalent methyl groups. C(p)(T) required for the estimation of T(tun) was calculated purely theoretically on the basis of the Einstein and Debye models of specific heat and 51 modes of atomic vibrations, 4 internal rotations, and 3 torsions calculated by DFT. The -CH3 motion (tunneling and classical) results in the reduction in the (1)H NMR line second moment from 17.3 G(2) (rigid) to approximately 11.05 G(2). The pointed high temperature minimum T1(T) of 0.109 s at 89 K, 24.667 MHz, which shifts with frequency, was assigned to small-angle libration jumps, by the Θ2 = ±15° between two positions of equilibrium. The activation energy of this motion estimated on the basis of the fit of the theoretical model to the experimental points is 10.5 kJ/mol. The reduction in the (1)H NMR line second moment assigned to this motion is much lower (due to order parameter s = 0.64) and equal to 1.6 G(2). The high temperature reduction from 9.6 G(2) to 0.9 G(2) at 380 K is a result of the phase transition connected with melting (385-389 K).