Experimental and theoretical studies on constitutional isomers of 2,6-dihydroxynaphthalene carbaldehydes. Effects of resonance-assisted hydrogen bonding on the electronic absorption spectra.

We prepared and characterized a series of mono- and dicarbaldehydes of 2,6-dihydroxynaphthalene that bear potential resonance-assisted hydrogen bonding (RAHB) unit(s). X-ray crystal structures of selected compounds revealed that each salicylaldehyde moiety forms an intramolecular hydrogen bond and that the introduction of formyl groups into either the alpha- or beta-position causes a considerable difference in geometry, which was interpretative from a conventional scheme of resonance hybrids including ionic state. Analyses on NMR chemical shifts suggested that the compounds in solution are present as an equilibrium mixture between closed and open forms with respect to RAHB units.