2013) Conformational preferences for some 3,3-bis[(4′-substituted phenylsulfanyl)]1-methyl-2-piperidinones through spectroscopic and theoretical studies, Journal of Sulfur Chemistry, 34:6, 617-626,The analysis of the IR carbonyl band of some 3,3-bis[(4 -substituted phenylsulfanyl)]1-methyl-2-piperidinones 1-5 bearing as substituents OMe 1, Me 2, H 3, Cl 4 and Br 5, supported by B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) calculations for 3, indicated the existence of three conformers in the gas phase and practically a single conformer in solution. In the gas phase, the c 1 conformer is less polar and slightly more stable than the most polar c 2 conformer. The c 3 conformer is the least polar and least stable conformer. The summing up of the selected natural bond orbital delocalization orbital energies is practically the same (ca.136 kcal mol −1 ) for the c 1 , c 2 and c 3 conformers of 3. Therefore, the trend of the [O δ− (CO) · · · H δ+ o−Ph ] (hydrogen bond) attractive electrostatic interactions along with the trend of the [O δ− (CO) · · · S δ− ] repulsive electrostatic interactions are the main factors which determine the observed computed relative populations for the c 1 (44%), c 2 (31%) and c 3 (25%) conformers. Moreover, the IR single carbonyl stretching band found (for 1-5) in solvents of increasing relative permissivity (CCl 4 , CHCl 3 , CH 2 Cl 2 , CH 3 CN), in agreement with polarisable continuum model calculations (for 3), show that the most polar c 2 conformer is practically unique in the solution (for 1-5), and the geometry is very close to that of the c 2 conformer in the solid state (for 1-4). = H = C = N = O = S Y = OMe 1, Me 2, H 3, Cl 4, Br 5 Most polar conformer (c 2 ) Y Y