A combined DFT – NMR study of cyclic 1,2-diones and methyl ethers of their enols: The power and limitations of the method based on theoretical predictions of 13C NMR chemical shifts

A series of cyclic 1,2-diones and methyl ethers of their enols were investigated by a combined 13C NMR/computational DFT method to establish their preferred solution structures. The optimum molecular geometries and magnetic shielding constants of carbon nuclei were calculated with GIAO DFT [PBE1PBE/6-311++G(2d,p) PCM] method for the investigated molecules allowing for enolization and dynamic conformational equilibriums occurring in the solutions. These compounds served simultaneously as model compounds for testing the effectiveness and limitations of the exploited method of investigating molecular structures based on comparison of the theoretically calculated magnetic shielding constants and experimental 13C NMR chemical shifts. Generally, a very good agreement between experimental and theoretical data was obtained for the investigated group of compounds, which proved the applied level of theory and used methodology to be adequate and should ensure a high accuracy of the 13C NMR chemical shift predictions. Some divergences between the experiment and theory could be interpreted as the results of insufficiencies of the molecular modelling and the effects of neglecting vibrational/librational molecular motions. Furthermore, we report herein an observation of an unexpected 1H NMR spectral pattern for 2,3-dimethoxycyclodeca-1,3-diene (diether of cyclodecadione dienol), which was interpreted to be caused by the slow (in NMR time scale) enantiomerization of this molecule which preferentially assumes a chiral conformation.