Experimental and theoretical assessments of the substituent and medium dependence of the internal rotational potentials in benzyl fluoride. 3,5-Difluorobenzyl fluoride and 4-fluorobenzyl fluoride

The 1H, 19F, and 13C {H} nuclear magnetic resonance spectra at 300 K of 4-fluoro- and 3,5-difluorobenzyl fluoride, dissolved in CS2–C6D12 and acetone-d6, are fully analyzed. Spin–spin coupling constants over four, five, and six formal bonds are used to derive expectation values of sin2θ and [Formula: see text] and the apparent twofold internal rotational potentials; [Formula: see text] is the angle by which the α C—F(C—H) bond twists out of the ring plane. The conformation of lowest energy has [Formula: see text] for the 3,5-difluoro compound in the polar and nonpolar solutions, whereas it has [Formula: see text] for the 4-fluoro derivative. The magnitudes of the potentials lie between 2 and 4 kJ/mol, that is, comparable to thermal energies. These data are compared with previous results for the parent compound and its 3,5-dichloro derivative. Geometry-optimized molecular orbital computations, including some correlation-gradient procedures, for benzyl fluoride and the two fluoro derivatives have [Formula: see text] for the conformations of highest energy of the free molecules. However, geometry-optimized SCFRF calculations of the solvent perturbations of the potential (dipole terms are insufficient) are in semiquantitative agreement with experiment in the sense that both solvents are predicted to destabilize the conformation with [Formula: see text] For example, the predominant twofold component in the computed (6-31G*) potential is 3.4 (free), −0.7 (CS2), and −3.3 (acetone-d6) kJ/mol for benzyl fluoride, a negative number indicating [Formula: see text] for the stable conformer; the experimental values are −0.8(2) (CS2) and −2.7(2) (acetone-d6) kJ/mol. The agreement between experiment and theory is of a similar quality for the fluoro derivatives. The stabilization of the conformer with [Formula: see text] for the 4-fluoro derivative is tentatively attributed to hyperconjugative electron acceptance by the α C—F bond, enhanced by the π-electron donor at the para position. A number of coupling constants are discussed in terms of the possible mechanisms of their transmission. Future experiments are indicated. Keywords: 1H, 19F, 13C NMR of 4-fluorobenzyl fluoride and 3,5-difluorobenzyl fluoride; MO calculations and internal rotational potentials in benzyl fluoride, 3,5-difluorobenzyl fluoride, and 4-fluorobenzyl fluoride; solvent effects and experimental and theoretical approaches to internal rotational potentials in 3,5-difluorobenzyl fluoride and 4-fluorobenzyl fluoride.