A theoretical study of conformational flexibility, magnetic properties, and polarizabilities of trimethylnaphthalenes

摘要

For almost all trimethylnaphthalenes (TMNs), the transition from a planar equilibrium ring conformation to a nonplanar conformation characterized by the torsional angle of 20° results in an energy increase of less than 2.5 kcal/mol. For some of them, it is less than 1.6 kcal/mol, which indicates that these molecules can change their conformation easily through intermolecular interactions. The results of the calculations reveal a linear relationship between the averaged rigidity constant and the relative energy for all planar TMNs. The changes of rings deformational energy imposed on π-electron systems of TMNs by medium polarity are negligible (less than 0.05 kcal/mol). The aromaticity indices, based on nucleus-independent chemical shifts, indicate aromatic character of TMNs. The α substitution increases the ring area more than the β substitution. The increase of anisotropy of dipole polarizabilities with the decrease of the area of rings for all planar TMNs, dimethylnaphthalenes and methylnaphthalenes is noticed.