UV and MO study on the deprotonation of some 2-aryl-Δ2-1,3,4-oxadiazoline-5-thiones

Substituent effects on the deprotonation processes of a series of 2-aryl-Δ²-1,3,4-oxadiazoline-5-thione (1) derivatives have been studied experimentally as well as theoretically. The acid dissociation constants pK_a have been determined spectrophotometrically in ethanol-water solutions (7.5-92.5%) and vary between 3.76 and 5.80. Semiempirical molecular orbital (MO) calculations (AM1 and PM3) were used for the investigation of the existence of possible tautomeric thione and thiol forms of the studied compounds. Strong correlation between the pK_a values and the deprotonation enthalpies were evaluated.