Aromaticity and stability going in opposite directions: An energetic, structural, magnetic and electronic study of aminopyrimidines

The relation between molecular energetics and aromaticity was investigated for the interaction between the amino functional group and the nitrogen atoms of the pyridine and pyrimidine rings, using experimental thermodynamic techniques and computational geometries, enthalpies, chemical shifts, atomic charges and the Quantum Theory of Atoms in Molecules. 2,4-diaminopyrimidine and 2,4,6-triaminopyrimidine were studied by static bomb combustion calorimetry and Knudsen effusion technique. The derived gaseous-phase enthalpies of formation together with the enthalpies of formation of the three isomers of aminopyridine reported in the literature, were compared with the calculated computationally ones and extended to other diamino- and triaminopyrimidine isomers using the MP2/6-311++G(d,p) level of theory.The results were analyzed in terms of enthalpy of interaction between substituents and, due to the absence of meaningful stereochemical hindrance, strong inductive effects, or intramolecular hydrogen bonds according to QTAIM results, the resonance electron delocalization plays an almost exclusive role in the very exothermic enthalpies obtained. Therefore, this enthalpy of interaction was used as an experimental energetic measure of resonance effects and analyzed in terms of aromaticity. It was found that more conjugation between substituents means less aromaticity according to the magnetic (NICS) and electronic (Shannon) criteria, but more aromaticity according to the geometric (HOMA) criterion.

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► ΔfHmo (cr) of 2,4-diaminopyrimidine and 2,4,6-triaminopyrimidine were obtained by combustion calorimetry.
► Sublimation thermodynamics of the compounds was studied by Knudsen effusion technique.
► Ab initio computational calculations were performed for mono-, di- and triaminopyrimidine isomers.
► Molecular energetics were correlated with several criteria of aromaticity.
► The influence of intramolecular hydrogen bonds was explored.