Probing Polar-π Interactions Between Tetrazoles and Aromatic Rings

The heterocyclic tetrazole, a well-established bioisosteric replacement of carboxylic acid, plays an important role in medicinal chemistry. To deepen the functional understanding of tetrazoles in chemical sciences, it is essential to investigate the noncovalent interactions between the tetrazole ring and aromatic rings. Here, we report synthetic, spectroscopic, structural and quantum chemical analyses on specially designed 2-arylphenyl-1H-tetrazoles to study the underlying noncovalent interactions between the tetrazole ring and the neighboring aromatic ring possessing substituents at para/meta position. pK(a) values and proton affinities of 2-arylphenyl-1H-tetrazoles correlate well with Hammett sigma values of para-substituents at the flanking aromatic ring. Molecular orbital and energy decomposition analyses reveal that through-space NH-pi interactions and pi-pi interactions contribute to the trend of pK(a) values and proton affinities of 2-arylphenyl-1H-tetrazoles. The electrostatic interaction between tetrazole/tetrazolide interacting with the aromatic rings appears responsible for the observed acidity trends. These results will be helpful for the rational design of tetrazole-based drugs and materials.