Structure of dilignol,β-O-4-[1-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-2-(2-methoxyphenoxy)-1-ethanol] in crystal and in solution

The structure of dilignol, 1-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-2-(2-methoxyphenoxy)-1-ethanol was studied by x-ray diffraction structural analysis and¹H PMR spectroscopy. The dilignol molecules crystallize in an extended conformation with trans-Ar-C-C-O and trans-C-C-O-Ar structures: the angle between the plane of the aromatic systems was 74.0°. This conformation was stabilized by intermolecular hydrogen bonds, which linked the molecules into chains. Weak Y-shaped hydrogen bonds were found between molecules of adjacent chains. These results were compared with the literature data on the crystal structure of -O-4 dilignols. A similar conformation of dilignol stabilized by an intramolecular hydrogen bond, whose existence was indicated by IR spectroscopy, was found to predominate in acetone and chloroform solutions. A conclusion was drawn concerning the conformational mobility of -O-4 dilignols and the factors determining the conformational composition of dilignols in solution were discussed.S. M. Kirov Leningrad Forest Technology Institute, Institute of Wood Chemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Latvian SSR. Institute of Organic Synthesis, Academy of Sciences of the Latvian SSR. Translated from Zhurnal Strukturnoi Khimii, Vol. 30, No. 5, pp. 135–141, September–October, 1989.