Competition between non-classical and classical hydrogen bonded sites in [BH3CN]−: Spectral, energetic, structural and electronic features

Interaction of the salt (Ph3PNPPh3)BH3CN with the various OH and NH proton donors in low polar media was studied by variable temperature (200–290 K) IR spectroscopy and theoretically by DFT calculations. The formation of two types of complexes containing non-classical dihydrogen bond to the hydride hydrogen (DHB) and classical hydrogen bond (HB) to nitrogen lone pair was shown in solution. The 1:1 complexes of both types (XH⋯H and XH⋯N) coexist in the presence of equimolar amount of proton donor. The addition of excess XH-acid leads to the increase of the classical HB content and appearance of the 1:2 complexes, where two basic sites work simultaneously. The structure, spectral characteristics, energy and electron redistribution were studied by DFT (B3LYP) method. The comparison DHB parameters of [BH3CN]− with those of the unsubstituted analogue [BH4]− allowed analyzing the electronic effects of the CN group on the basic properties of boron hydride moiety. The electronic influence of the BH3 group on CN−⋯HX hydrogen bond was also established by comparison with the corresponding classical HB to the CN− anion.