The molecular structure of the N-chloroimine product of rearrangement of N,N-dichloroperfluoroaniline: A study by gas-phase electron diffraction

A gas-phase electron-diffraction study of the product of rearrangement of N,N-dichloro-perfluoroaniline has assisted in establishing it to be the N-chloroimine, I, rather than the azepine, II. The molecule is found to be planar apart from atoms Cl13 and F14. The detailed dimensions shown in Fig. 2 were obtained by least-squares refinements in which several structural constraints were applied to reduce the total number of independent parameters. Of particular interest is the evidence for overcrowding around the CN bond: ∠N7C1C2 = 128°, ∠C18N7C1 = 126°, ∠N7C1C6 = 118° ; the distance C18 β F9 is 2.73 Å.