Conformational analysis of N-phenyl- and N-trifyl-4,4-dimethyl-4-silathiane 1-sulfimides
- N-Substituted 4,4-dimethyl-4-silathiane 1-sulfimides Me2Si(sic)S=NSO2R [R- Ph (1), CF3 (2)] were studied experimentally by variable temperature dynamic NMR spectroscopy. Low temperature 13 C NMR spectra of the two compounds revealed the frozen ring inversion process and approximately equal content of the axial and equatorial conformers. Calculations of the 4-silathiane derivatives 1, 2 and the model compound [R Me (3)] as well as their carbon analogs, the similarly N-substituted (sic)S=NSO2R thiane 1-sulfimides [R = Ph (4), CF3 (5), Me (6)] at the DFT/B3LYP/6-311G(d, p) level in the gas phase and in chloroform solution using the PCM model at the same level of theory showed a strong dependence of the relative stability of the conformer on the solvent. The electronegative trifluoromethyl group increases the relative stability of the axial conformer.