organic compounds
Acta Crystallographica Section C
Crystal Structure
delocalization and the presence of keto and enol tautomeric
forms (Shi et al., 2004; Gilli et al., 2000).
Communications
The structure of 4-amino-N-(2-hydroxyphenyl)pent-3-en-2-
one, consisting of phenol and aminopent-3-en-2-one groups,
has been studied previously by X-ray crystallography and
AM1 calculations (Kabak et al., 1998). Both keto and enol
tautomeric forms of this compound can exist, but the keto
form is dominant in the enthalpically favoured nonplanar
structure (in which the ketone bridge is canted relative to the
aminophenol group). Nonplanarity in this system is brought
about by nonbonded Hꢂ ꢂ ꢂH repulsions, consistent with
previous observations for N-benzylideneaniline and related
compounds (Burgi & Dunitz, 1971). Interestingly, the latter
study suggested that delocalization of the N-atom lone-pair
electrons onto the aniline ring when the compound is in a
nonplanar conformation possibly contributes to the stability of
the observed molecular geometry. Studies of tridentate Schiff
base compounds similar to those reported here, e.g.
2-hydroxy-N-(2-hydroxy-5-methylphenyl)benzaldehydeimine
(Kabak et al., 1999), 3-(2-hydroxyphenylimino)-1-phenyl-
butan-1-one (Dey et al., 2009) and 4-chloro-2-(4-oxopent-2-en-
2-ylamino)phenol (Arıcı et al., 1999), have likewise high-
lighted the occurrence of nonplanar conformations with a
dominant keto tautomer. Planarity in 3-methoxyphenylsali-
cylaldimine, which contains a meta-substituted methoxy group
rather than the hydroxy group on the ring, has been attributed
to a lack of nonbonded intramolecular repulsions (Elmali et
al., 1999). From a more general perspective, the conformation
of a Schiff base compound may dictate aspects of its physical
behaviour and thus some of its potential applications. Thus,
some planar Schiff base compounds are reportedly thermo-
chromic in the solid state (the mechanism involves proton
transfer), while those with a nonplanar geometry may exhibit
photochromism (Hadjoudis et al., 1987; Moustakali-Mavridis
et al., 1978).
Although interesting in its own right, the Schiff base
4-amino-N-(2-hydroxyphenyl)pent-3-en-2-one is a syntheti-
cally tractable tridentate ligand for metal ions and has been
chelated to both NiII (Zhang & Zhu, 2008) and SiIV (Seiler et
al., 2005). The ligand coordinates the metal ions via its hy-
droxyphenol O- and N-donor atoms and its enolate O-donor
atom, thereby forming adjacent five- and six-membered
chelate rings with the metal ion. In such complexes, the N C,
C—O and C—C bond lengths of the bridge are consistent with
the enolic form of the compound. The ligand itself is
nonplanar due to the out-of-plane tilt of the phenyl group
relative to the remainder of the molecule. Interestingly,
although square-planar complexes are formed with such
ligands and NiII, distorted trigonal–bipyramidal complexes are
favoured with SiIV, in which the N atom of the ligand occupies
an axial position while the O atoms bind in equatorial posi-
tions. Similar results are obtained for other tridentate deri-
vatives chelated to CuII, NiII, CoII and FeIII, where the metal–
ligand ratios vary from 1:1 to 1:2 (Sallam et al., 2002).
ISSN 0108-2701
An X-ray crystallographic and
density functional theory study of
(3Z)-4-(5-ethylsulfonyl-2-hydroxy-
anilino)pent-3-en-2-one and
(3Z)-4-(5-tert-butyl-2-hydroxy-
anilino)pent-3-en-2-one
Kate J. Akerman* and Orde Q. Munro
School of Chemisty and Physics, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Private Bag X01,
Scottsville, Pietermaritzburg 3209, South Africa
Correspondence e-mail: 205503190@stu.ukzn.ac.za
Received 17 November 2012
Accepted 23 January 2013
Online 5 February 2013
The Schiff base enaminones (3Z)-4-(5-ethylsulfonyl-2-hy-
droxyanilino)pent-3-en-2-one, C13H17NO4S, (I), and (3Z)-4-
(5-tert-butyl-2-hydroxyanilino)pent-3-en-2-one, C15H21NO2,
(II), were studied by X-ray crystallography and density
functional theory (DFT). Although the keto tautomer of
these compounds is dominant, the O C—C C—N bond
lengths are consistent with some electron delocalization and
partial enol character. Both (I) and (II) are nonplanar, with
the amino–phenol group canted relative to the rest of the
molecule; the twist about the N(enamine)—C(aryl) bond
leads to dihedral angles of 40.5 (2) and ꢀ116.7 (1)ꢁ for (I) and
(II), respectively. Compound (I) has a bifurcated intra-
molecular hydrogen bond between the N—H group and the
flanking carbonyl and hydroxy O atoms, as well as an
intermolecular hydrogen bond, leading to an infinite one-
dimensional hydrogen-bonded chain. Compound (II) has one
intramolecular hydrogen bond and one intermolecular
C
Oꢂ ꢂ ꢂH—O hydrogen bond, and consequently also forms
a one-dimensional hydrogen-bonded chain. The DFT-calcu-
lated structures [in vacuo, B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) level] for the
keto tautomers compare favourably with the X-ray crystal
structures of (I) and (II), confirming the dominance of the
keto tautomer. The simulations indicate that the keto
tautomers are 20.55 and 18.86 kJ molꢀ1 lower in energy than
the enol tautomers for (I) and (II), respectively.
Comment
Schiff base enaminones have been widely studied, due to their
diverse chemistry and various applications in coordination
chemistry (Kim et al., 2001; Doherty et al., 1999; Xiu et al.,
1997; Zhang & Zhu, 2008). Studies of the free ligands have
shown that the O C—C C—N bond lengths reflect electron
In this paper, we report the X-ray structures of the two
tridentate Schiff base enaminones, (3Z)-4-(5-ethylsulfonyl-2-
hydroxyanilino)pent-3-en-2-one, (I), and (3Z)-4-(5-tert-butyl-
258 # 2013 International Union of Crystallography
doi:10.1107/S0108270113002369
Acta Cryst. (2013). C69, 258–262