“Anti-electrostatic” halogen bonding in solution

Halogen-bonded (XB) complexes between halide anions and a cyclopropenylium-based anionic XB donor were characterized in solution for the first time. Spontaneous formation of such complexes confirms that halogen bonding is sufficiently strong to overcome electrostatic repulsion between two anions. The formation constants of such “anti-electrostatic” associations are comparable to those formed by halides with neutral halogenated electrophiles. However, while the latter usually show charge-transfer absorption bands, the UV-Vis spectra of the anion–anion complexes examined herein are determined by the electronic excitations within the XB donor. The identification of XB anion–anion complexes substantially extends the range of the feasible XB systems, and it provides vital information for the discussion of the nature of this interaction.

Spontaneous formation of “anti-electrostatic” complexes in solution demonstrates that halogen bonding can be sufficiently strong to overcome anion–anion repulsion when the latter is attenuated by the polar medium.

Halogen bonding (XB) is an attractive interaction between a Lewis base (LB) and a halogenated compound, exhibiting an electrophilic region on the halogen atom.¹ It is most commonly related to electrostatic interaction between an electron-rich species (XB acceptor) and an area of positive electrostatic potential (σ-holes) on the surface of the halogen substituent in the electrophilic molecule (XB donor).² Provided that mutual polarization of the interacting species is taken into account, the σ-hole model explains geometric features and the variation of stabilities of XB associations, especially in the series of relatively weak complexes.³ Based on the definition of halogen bonding and its electrostatic interpretation, this interaction is expected to involve either cationic or neutral XB donors. Electrostatic interaction of anionic halogenated species with electron-rich XB acceptors, however, seems to be repulsive, especially if the latter are also anionic. Yet, computational analyses predicted that halogen bonding between ions of like charges, called “anti-electrostatic” halogen bonding (AEXB),⁴ can possibly be formed^5–12 and the first examples of AEXB complexes formed by different anions, i.e. halide anions and the anionic iodinated bis(dicyanomethylene)cyclopropanide derivatives 1 (see Scheme 1) or the anionic tetraiodo-p-benzoquinone radical, were characterized recently in the solid state.^13,14 The identification of such complexes substantially extends the range of feasible XB systems, and it provides vital information for the discussion of the nature of this interaction. Computational results, however, significantly depend on the used methods and applied media (gas phase vs. polar environment and solvation models) and the solid state arrangements of the XB species might be affected by crystal forces and/or counterions. Unambiguous confirmation of the stability of the halogen-bonded anion–anion complexes and verification of their thermodynamic characteristics thus requires experimental characterization of the spontaneous formation of such associations in solution. Still, while the solution-phase complexes formed by hydrogen bonding between two anionic species were reported previously,^15–17 there is currently no example of “anti-electrostatic” XB in solution.Open in a separate windowScheme 1Structures of the XB donor 1 and its hydrogen-substituted analogue 2.To examine halogen bonding between two anions in solution, we turn to the interaction between halides and 1,2-bis(dicyanomethylene)-3-iodo-cyclopropanide 1 (Scheme 1).^‡ Even though this compound features a cationic cyclopropenylium core, it is overall anionic, and calculations have demonstrated that its electrostatic potential is universally negative across its entire surface.¹³ The solution of 1 (with tris(dimethylamino)cyclopropenium (TDA) as counterion) in acetonitrile is characterized by an absorption band at 288 nm with ε = 2.3 × 10⁴ M⁻¹ cm⁻¹ (Fig. 1). As LB, we first applied iodide anions taken as a salt with n-tetrabutylammonium counter-ion, Bu₄NI. This salt does not show absorption bands above 290 nm, but its addition to a solution of 1 led to a rise of absorption in the 290–350 nm range (Fig. 1). Subtraction of the absorption of the individual components from that of their mixture produced a differential spectrum which shows a maximum at about 301 nm (insert in Fig. 1). At constant concentration of the XB donor (1) and constant ionic strength, the intensity of the absorption in the range of 280–300 nm (and hence differential absorbance, ΔAbs) rises with increasing iodide concentration (Fig. S1 in the ESI^†). This suggests that the interaction of iodide with 1 results in the formation of the 1, I⁻]-complex which shows a higher absorptivity in this spectral range (eqn (1)):1 + X⁻ ⇌ 1, X⁻]1Open in a separate windowFig. 1Spectra of acetonitrile solutions with constant concentration of 1 (0.60 mM) and various concentrations of Bu₄NI (6.0, 13, 32, 49, 75, 115 and 250 mM, solid lines from the bottom to the top). The dashed lines show spectra of the individual solutions 1 (c = 0.60 mM, red line) and Bu₄NI (c = 250 mM, blue line). The ionic strength was maintained using Bu₄NPF₆. Insert: Differential spectra of the solutions obtained by subtraction of the absorption of the individual components from the spectra of their corresponding mixtures.To clarify the mode of interaction between 1 and iodide in the complex, we also performed analogous measurements with the hydrogen-substituted compound 2 (see Scheme 1). The addition of iodide to a solution of 2 in acetonitrile did not increase the absorption in the 280–300 nm spectral range. Instead, some decrease of the absorption band intensity of 2 with the increase of concentration of I⁻ anions was observed (Fig. S2 in the ESI^†). Such changes are related to a blue shift of this band resulting from the hydrogen bonding between 2 and iodide (formation of hydrogen-bonded 2, I⁻] complex is corroborated by the observation of the small shift of the NMR signal of the proton of 2 to the higher ppm values in the presence of I⁻ anions, see Fig. S3 in the ESI^†).^§ Furthermore, since H-compound 2 should be at least as suitable as XB donor 1 to form anion–π complexes with the halide, this finding (as well as solid-state and computational data^¶) rules out that any increase in absorption in this region observed with the I-compound 1 may be due to this alternative interaction.Likewise, the addition of NBu₄I to a solution of TDA cations taken as a salt with Cl⁻ anions did not result in an increase in the relevant region. Hence, we could also rule out anion–π interactions with the TDA counter-ions as source of the observed changes, which is in line with previous reports on the electron-rich nature of TDA.¹⁸All these observations (supported by the computational analysis, vide infra) indicate that the 1, I⁻] complex (eqn (1)) is formed via halogen bonding of I⁻ with iodine substituents in 1. The changes in the intensities of the differential absorption ΔAbs as a function of the iodide concentration (with constant concentration of XB donor (1) as well as constant ionic strength) are well-modelled by the 1 : 1 binding isotherm (Fig. S1 in the ESI^†). The fit of the absorption data produced a formation constant of K = 15 M⁻¹ for the 1, I⁻] complex (|| The overlap with the absorption of the individual XB donor hindered the accurate evaluation of the position and intensity of the absorption band of the corresponding complex which is formed upon LB-addition to 1. As such, the values of Δλ_max shown in † for the details of calculations).Equilibrium constants and spectral characteristics of the complexes of 1 with halide anions X⁻

Complexa	K M−1]	Δλmaxc nm]	10−3Δεd M−1 cm−1]
1·I−	15 ± 2	302	9.0
1·I−b	8 ± 2	303	8.0
1·Br−	17 ± 2	302	3.7
1·Cl−	40 ± 8	302	3.0

Open in a separate window^aAll measurements performed in CH₃CN at 22 °C, unless stated otherwise.^bIn CH₂Cl₂.^cWavelength of the maximum of the differential spectra.^dDifferences in extinction coefficients of XB 1, I⁻] complex and individual 1 at Δλ_max.Since earlier computational studies demonstrated substantial dependence of formation of the AEXB complexes on polarity of the medium,^6–12 interaction between 1 and I⁻ anions was also examined in dichloromethane. The spectral changes in this moderately-polar solvent were analogous to that in acetonitrile (Fig. S4 in the ESI^†). ^* The values for the formation constants of the 1, I⁻] complex and Δε (obtained from the fitting of the ΔAbs vs. I⁻] dependence) in CH₂Cl₂ are lower than those in acetonitrile (6–12 predicting stronger binding in more polar solvents.The addition of bromide or chloride salts to an acetonitrile solution of 1 caused changes in the UV-Vis range which were generally similar to that observed upon addition of iodide. The variations of the magnitude of the differential absorption intensities with the increase in the bromide or chloride concentrations are less pronounced than that observed upon addition of iodide (in agreement with the results of the DFT computations of the UV-Vis spectra of the complexes, vide infra). Yet, they could also be fitted using 1 : 1 binding isotherms (see Fig. S5 and S6 in the ESI^†). The formation constants of the corresponding 1, Br⁻] and 1, Cl⁻] complexes resulted from the fitting of these dependencies are listed in 19–22 Thus, despite the “anti-electrostatic” nature of XB complexes between two anions, the stabilities of such associations are similar to that observed with the most common neutral XB donors.In contrast to the similarity in thermodynamic characteristics, the UV-Vis spectral properties of the complexes of the anionic XB donor 1 with halides are substantially different from that reported for the analogous associations with the neutral XB donors. Specifically, a number of earlier studies revealed that intermolecular (XB or anion–π) complexes of halide anions are characterized by distinct absorption bands, which could be clearly segregated from the absorption of the interacting species.^21–23 If the same neutral XB donor was used, the absorption bands of the corresponding complexes with chloride were blue shifted, and absorption bands of the complexes with iodide as LB were red shifted as compared to the bands of complexes with bromide. For example, XB complexes of CFBr₃ with Cl⁻, Br⁻ or I⁻ show absorption band maxima at 247 nm, 269 nm and 312 nm, respectively (individual CFBr₃ is characterized by an absorption band at 233 nm).²¹ Within a framework of the Mulliken charge-transfer theory of molecular complexes,²⁴ such an order is related to a rise in the energy of the corresponding HOMO (and electron-donor strength) from Cl⁻ to Br⁻ and to I⁻ anions. In the complexes with the same electron acceptor, this is accompanied by a decrease of the HOMO–LUMO gap, and thus, a red shift of the absorption band. The data in †† at M06-2X/def2-tzvpp level with acetonitrile as a medium (using PCM solvation model)²⁵ produced thermodynamically stable XB complexes between 1 and I⁻, Br⁻ or Cl⁻ anions (they were similar to the complexes which were obtained earlier via M06-2X/def2-tzvp computations with SMD solvation model¹³). The calculated structure of the 1, I⁻] complex is shown in Fig. 2 and similar structures for the 1, Br⁻] and 1, Cl⁻] are shown in Fig. S7 in the ESI.^†Open in a separate windowFig. 2Optimized geometries of the 1, I⁻] complex with (3, −1) bond critical points (yellow spheres) and the bond path (green line) from the QTAIM analysis. The blue–green disc indicates intermolecular attractive interactions resulting from the NCI treatments (s = 0.4 a.u. isosurfaces, color scale: −0.035 (blue) < ρ < 0.02 (red) a.u.).QTAIM analysis²⁶ of these structures revealed the presence of the bond paths (shown as the green line) and (3, −1) bond critical points (BCPs) indicating bonding interaction between iodine substituent of 1 and halide anions. Characteristics of these BCPs (electron density of about 0.015 a.u., Laplacians of electron density of about 0.05 a.u. and energy density of about 0.0004 a.u., see Table S1 in the ESI^†) are typical for the moderately strong supramolecular halogen bonds.²⁷ The Non-Covalent Interaction (NCI) Indexes treatment²⁸ produced characteristic green–blue discs at the critical points'' positions, confirming bonding interaction in all these complexes.Binding energies, ΔE, for the 1, X⁻] complexes are listed in