Comparison of the effects of symmetric versus asymmetric H bonding on 2H and 17O nuclear quadrupole coupling constants: Application to formic acid and the hydrogen diformate anion

In this paper, we analyse the effects on the nuclear quadrupole coupling behaviour of ²H and ¹⁷O nuclei of a shift in H-bond character from asymmetric to symmetric. Using ab initio methods, the coupling amplitudes (nuclear quadrupole coupling constant e²_qQ/h) coupling anisotropies (asymmetry parameter η), and orientations of the electric field gradient (EFG) principal axis (PA) system of the H-bonded deuterium and oxygen nuclei in the formic acid dimer and related monomers, and the deuterium diformate anion are calculated. In addition, the relative contributions to the ²H and ¹⁷O EFGs of nuclear and electronic terms, and also the convergence of the EFG as a function of contributions from increasingly distant nuclei in the molecule are investigated. The trends in the calculated ¹⁷O EFGs on going from an asymmetric to a symmetric H-bonded environment are correlated with experimental nqr data in order to establish the hitherto unknown e²qQ/h sign, EFG assignments and PA orientation of symmetrically H-bonded oxygen. The possibility that the e²qQ/h value of deuterium is negative for symmetric H bonds is discussed, and difficulties in the computation of ²H EFGs for symmetric - as distinct from asymmetric - H-bonded systems are pointed out. In strong disagreement with assumptions in the literature, it is found that nearest neighbour terms do not dominate the ²H EFG in symmetrically H-bonded systems.