The Journal of Physical Chemistry A
Article
for 25PNO-3,4,5-d3/75NB/p-tBC and for 25PNO-2,6-d2/
75NB/p-tBC with the splitting range Δνxx = 48 4 kHz, Δνyy
= 80 4 kHz, and Δνzz = 120 4 kHz were observed.
It is obvious that guest molecules are highly mobile
throughout the whole accessible temperature range, resulting
in a motional averaged Pake pattern. Even at a low temperature
It can be seen that at low temperatures (−130 °C, Δνzz = 140
4 kHz), the typical non-axially symmetric Pake patterns were
observed for all. The simulated spectra between −130 and 20 °C
are also shown in Figure 4. It is known that12−14 the quadrupolar
of −130 °C, Δνzz = 140 4 kHz, the average QCC, χ = 175
5
kHz, and ⟨η⟩ = 0.04−0.21, observed for 25PNO-d5/75NB/p-
tBC that are close in value with those of pyridine/p-tBC, χ = 174
kHz and η = 0.04, at −173.15 °C, and χ = 165 kHz and η = 0.1, at
−93.15 °C, were reported.17 The line shape of this doublet does
not change drastically as the temperature increased, as shown in
2
splitting of the H spectrum of a single crystal placed in an
external magnetic field Bo can be described by
2
Figure 4a. The theoretical H NMR line shape of 25PNO-d5/
3
Δν(θ, ϕ) = χ[(3cos2 θC−D − 1) − (ηsin2 θcos 2ϕ)]
75NB/p-tBC was superimposed using the two-fold symmetry
jump cone model. Due to the existence of three deuteron species
and their percentage contribution D2(≈D6) = 40%, D3(≈D5) =
40%, and D4 = 20%, the sum of three subspectra reproduced the
simulated line with equal site population. The lines were
superimposed to show the contribution among each of them in
the final spectrum. It can be seen that the populations of
deuterons D2(D6) and D3(D5) derived from analysis are almost
similar. The lines characterized by an average value are typical
for molecules undergoing motions in the fast exchange limit (1·
10−8 s−1), a jump angle of φ = 180°, and an opening angle of θ =
60° for D2(D6) and D3(D5) and 0° for D4. Schematic drawings
of the two-sided ring jump based on the cone model are shown
in Figure S1 in the Supporting Information. This model’s
assumption is sufficient to provide a quantitative reproduction of
the experimentally obtained Pake lines at a fixed pulse delay of
45 μs. Since the guest motion is within the fast exchange limit,
the jumping rate was fixed to 1·10−8 s−1 for all spectra calculated.
The three 2H NMR line shapes from particular deuterons of the
ring observed do not converge upon heating. At the lowest
temperature, the inclination axis of PNO inside p-tBC is not
perpendicular within the motional axis of a host (C4) where such
a position of molecules in motion is energetically favorable for
the fast rotation motion (see the X-ray picture or Figure 1). The
favored rotation on a cone model is in line with the presence of
stronger non-bonded van der Waals interactions between the
PNO guests confined inside the host p-tBC matrix, which arise
from the large dipole moment of PNO (μ = 4.25 D) compared
to pyridine (μ = 2.23 D) and nitrobenzene molecules (μ = 3.98
D). For instance, nitrobenzene’s large dipole moment in the ab
plane causes a net dipole moment in the non-centrosymmetric
α-tBC/NB crystal. Such a significant dipole moment in PNO
suggests that the resonance structure was derived due to
movement of electrons from oxygen to the ring C2(D2), C4(D4),
and C6(D6) carbon atom positions or when the direction of
polarization is reversed and the C2 and C4 carbon atoms of the
ring become positively charged. It is clear that such resonance
makes the ring atoms magnetically inequivalent.18 Upon
examining the location of the PNO dipole moment, methyl
groups of adjacent host (C−H) and guest (−ON+) distances
are in average d(N−O...H−C) = 2.27 Å and are relatively
shorter than the distances of d(H...N) = 2.58 Å of pyridine in the
host calixarene. Such a short distance suggests that nucleophilic
oxygen is pointed directly toward the methyl hydrogens of the
host tert-butyl group enabling formation of hydrogen bonding,
wherein the center of molecular mass of the PNO ring is tilted at
some angle (c.f. Figure 1). For example, a host−guest distance
determination studied for the pyridine/calixarene tert-butyl
group produced a weak C−H...N hydrogen bond interaction of
8 kJ/mol. Also, it was reported that the nitrobenzene nitro group
protrudes to one side in which the C−N bond of the
nitrobenzene points 67° with respect to the calixarene C4 axis.2
4
(1)
where Δν is the 2H Larmor frequency, χ is the QCC given by
e2qQ/h, expressed in frequency units, and η = (Δνyy − Δνxx)/
Δνzz is the asymmetry parameter of the electric field gradient
(EFG) tensor such that 0 < η < 1. The angles describe the
orientation of the magnetic moment with respect to B0 in the
principal axis system (PAS) of the quadrupole coupling tensor. If
the orientations of a C−D bond are equally distributed, then the
spectrum becomes a Pake pattern. Reorientations of the bonds
reduce the EFG and thus result in a change of the line shape,
depending on the nature and frequency of the motional
processes involved. In general, the powder spectrum is
characterized by three features, where the outer shoulders
(edges) are separated by Δνzz = (3/2)χ, inner shoulders by Δνyy
= (3/4)χ(1 + η), and a pair of singularities (peaks) by Δνxx = (3/
4)χ(1 − η). In the case when the rate of the molecular motion is
greater than the QCC, the spectral splitting becomes averaged
3
Δν = χ(3cos2 θC−D − 1)
(2)
4
where θC−D describes the orientation of the C−D vector with
respect to the motional axis. For aliphatic deuterons, the EFG
tensor is more or less cylindrically symmetric about C−D, and
the asymmetry parameter is close to zero in the polycrystalline
substance. The splitting between the singularities of the
spectrum reduces to a certain frequency, and therefore,
reduction of χ can be observed. For instance, the QCC for
pure nitrobenzene-d5 is 177.3 kHz and for nitrobenzene-d5/p-
tBC is 105.3 kHz.2,5 In the case of the intermediate exchange
regime (k = 104−107 Hz), the transverse spin−spin relaxation
time (T2) becomes comparable to the τQ value in the
quadrupolar echo experiment for certain orientations in
powdered samples. For these orientations, the second pulse
does not refocus the magnetization resulting in spectral intensity
loss. For other orientations, T2 is long when the motion does not
change the orientation of the C−D vector with respect to the
applied magnetic field B0. Thus, these orientations significantly
2
reduce the width of the prominent singularities in the H line
shape when a fast molecular motion (k > 107 Hz) occurs at a
timescale much shorter than 1·107 s−1. When motion is slow (k <
104 Hz), the exchange has a great impact on the observed line
shape.15 However, the observed non-axial symmetric Pake
pattern is typical for molecules undergoing motions in a fast
exchange limit with a symmetry axis of C2 jump. Further
observation of spectral fluctuation also depends on the
deuterated position of the guest species. In fact, if underlying
guest motion is too fast and time scales out of range for 2H NMR
line shape analysis, then the best solution for study is the spin−
lattice relaxation times, T1. Thus, the 2H NMR line shape can be
calculated by using the cone model as described by Macho et
al.16
10499
J. Phys. Chem. A 2020, 124, 10495−10506