FT-IR SPECTROSCOPIC STUDIES OF POLYURETHANES .2. ABINITIO QUANTUM CHEMICAL STUDIES OF THE RELATIVE STRENGTHS OF CARBONYL AND ETHER HYDROGEN-BONDS IN POLYURETHANES

Ab initio quantum chemical computations were carried out on (a) dimethyl ether, (b) N-methyl formamide, (c) dimethyl ether-N-methyl formamide complex, and (d) N-methyl formamide dimer to compute the strengths of hydrogen bonds (H-bonds) between the NH groups and C=O and ether C-O-C groups. The basis set used was the 3-21G set of the GAUSSIAN 80 program obtained from QCPE, Bloomington, IN. Variations in the strengths of these two H-bonds with the N . . O distance (where O is either carbonyl or ether group oxygen) were studied and found to be similar in behavior. The strength of the "ether" hydrogen bond is computed to be 10.32 kcal mol-1, which is quite significant compared to the value of 10.11 kcal mol-1 for the more accepted "carbonyl" hydrogen bond. The "ether" hydrogen bond is found to be directional, specific and non-negligible. Work with two more basis sets has indicated that the results so obtained are not dependent on their choice. Possible importance of such a hydrogen bond in polyurethanes, inhalation anesthetics, and depsipeptides is indicated.