The Nature of Solid-State N−H···O/O−H···N Tautomeric Competition in Resonant Systems. Intramolecular Proton Transfer in Low-Barrier Hydrogen Bonds Formed by the ···OC−CN−NH··· ⇄ ···HO−CC−NN··· Ketohydrazone−Azoenol System. A Variable-Temperature X-ray Crystallographic and DFT Computational Study

The tautomeric ···OC−CN−NH··· ⇄ ···HO−CC−NN··· ketohydrazone−azoenol system may form strong N−H···O/O−H···N intramolecular resonance-assisted H-bonds (RAHBs) which are sometimes of the low-barrier H-bond type (LBHB) with dynamic exchange of the proton in the solid state. The problem of the N−H···O/O−H···N competition in these compounds is studied here through variable-temperature (100, 150, 200, and 295 K) crystal-structure determination of pF = 1-(4-F-phenylazo)2-naphthol and oF = 1-(2-F-phenylazo)2-naphthol, two molecules that, on the ground of previous studies (Gilli, P; Bertolasi, V.; Ferretti, V.; Gilli, G. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2000, 122, 10405), were expected to represent an almost perfect balance of the two tautomers. According to predictions, the two molecules form remarkably strong bonds (d(N···O) = 2.53−2.55 A) of double-minimum or LBHB type with dynamic N−H···O/ O−H···N exchange in the solid state. The enthalpy differences between the two minima, as measured by van't Hoff methods from the X-ray-de...