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Article: Symmetry of hydrogen bonds in solution.(Report)
- Article from:
- Pure and Applied Chemistry
- Article date:
- April 1, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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INTRODUCTION
Hydrogen bonds (H-bonds) are a key feature of molecular structure [1]. A classic question regarding the structure of H-bonds concerns their symmetry. If the two donor atoms, A and B, have the same proton affinity, is the hydrogen centered (A**H**B) or is it closer to one and jumping between them (A-H***B in rapid equilibrium with A...H-B)? These two possibilities correspond to single- and double-well potentials, respectively (Fig. 1). Representative examples of these are maleate (1a) and phthalate (1b) monoanions and enols of acetylacetone (2), respectively.
[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]
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The ...