Nonbonded and interactions in 2-(4-chlorophenylthio) benzaldehyde in solution. An average skew conformation
The 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectral parameters are reported for 4.0 mol% solutions of 2-(4-chlorophenylthio) benzaldehyde in CS2/C6D12 and acetone-d6 at 300 K. In CS2 the O-syn conformer is 36% abundant, rising to 50% in acetone-d6. These abundances are compared to those of the O-syn and O-trans conformers of 2-(alkylthio) benzaldehydes in CCl4, solution. On the basis of coupling constants and chemical shifts it is concluded that the skew conformer of the title compound is very likely the one of minimum energy in both solutions. In the skew conformer the plane of the 4-chlorophenyl group lies perpendicular to the CSC plane and also to that of the other aromatic moiety. It is suggested that the [Formula: see text] interaction is rather weak and that the population of the O-syn conformer is controlled by the orientation of the mainly 3p lone-pair orbital on sulfur. At best, the [Formula: see text] interaction is attractive only when the 3p orbital lies perpendicular to the plane of the formyl group. The skew conformation of the title compound is contrasted to the skew conformation of 2-hydroxyphenyl phenyl sulfide in which, however, the role of the two aromatic planes is reversed; the 3p orbital now lies in or near the plane of the phenyl group COH due to an attractive [Formula: see text] interaction.