Water and alcohol(s): what's the difference? A proton NMR and DFT study of hetero‐association with pyridine

Hetero‐association of water and some simple aliphatic alcohols with pyridine in benzene has been studied by ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy at very low donor concentration, where self‐association is negligible. Association constants for the formation of 1:1 and 2:1 pyridine:water complexes can then be determined without recourse to ad hoc computer programmes. That for association of a second pyridine with water is about 10 times lower than for the first. Reaction parameters for the first association with water are very similar to those for the alcohols, whereas the reaction enthalpy for the second association is somewhat smaller. The chemical shift of the OH protons and the H? C? O? H coupling constants for alcohols at high dilution in benzene are almost identical with gas‐phase data. The change in chemical shift upon association with pyridine correlates with the free energy of the reaction. Quantum mechanical calculations [BPE0 functional, 6‐311+G(d,p) basis set and a polarized continuum model of the solvent (IEFPCM)] have been run on complexes of pyridine with water, both 1:1 and 2:1, and with four alcohols. Calculated reaction enthalpies are in qualitative and, in some cases, almost quantitative agreement with the experimental data. The association constants for 1:1 complexation of pyridine with alcohols follow a rough Taft correlation in terms of polar substituent constants. Substituent size, even in the case of very bulky groups, seems to be unimportant. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.