Syntheses and structures of azol-1-yl derivatives of nitronyl and imino nitroxides

2-(Pyrazol-1-yl)-, 2-(imidazol-1-yl)-, 2-([1,2,4]triazol-1-yl)-, and 2-(benzotriazol-1-yl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazole-3-oxide-1-oxyl were prepared by reactions of 2-bromo-4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazole-3-oxide-1-oxyl (NIT-Br) with the corresponding sodium azolides. In prepared 2-(azol-1-yl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazole-3-oxide-1-oxyls, the NIT–NHet bond is readily hydrolyzed. Reduction of imidazole-3-oxide-1-oxyls leads to corresponding 2-(azol-1-yl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazole-1-oxyls, which are much more stable against hydrolysis. The structures of spin-labeled imidazoles, [1,2,4]triazoles and benzotriazoles are confirmed by X-ray analysis, showing that the paramagnetic molecules form packings with motifs from centrosymmetric dimers to topologically linear chains.