Molecular tailoring approach as tool for revealing resonance-assisted hydrogen bond: Case study of Z-pyrrolylenones with the NH⋯OС intramolecular hydrogen bond.

Both the experimental and calculated data reveal that a strong NH⋯OС intramolecular hydrogen bond closing the seven-membered quasi-cycle is formed in the Z-isomers of pyrrolylenones. Comparison of the NH⋯OС intramolecular hydrogen bonds energies in the pyrrolylenones, estimated via the molecular tailoring approach, with the similar data for reference malonaldehydes shows that the resonance-assisted hydrogen bonding occurs in both cases, the hydrogen bond energy being varied mainly within 10-20 kcal/mol. The combined application of function-based and molecular tailoring approaches makes it possible to decompose the NH⋯OС total hydrogen bond energy in the pyrrolylenones into the π- and σ-components. It is established that the contribution of the π-component to the total N(O)H⋯OС hydrogen bond energy in the pyrrolylenones and malonaldehydes is almost the same (6-7 kcal/mol). Comparison of the π-contribution to the total energy of the resonance-assisted hydrogen bonding in the Z-isomer of pyrrolylenones with the energy of the push-pull effect in the E-isomer of pyrrolylenones reveals that the resonance contribution to the total energy of the resonance-assisted hydrogen bond in the former significantly enhances with reference to the net resonance energy in the latter. The appearance of the resonance-assisted hydrogen bond in the pyrrolylenones is possible due to the participation in the interaction of 10 or 14 π-electrons satisfying the Hückel aromaticity rule.