The NMR spectroscopic investigation of solutions of the
iminium ions Me2N+C(H)Cl
(1
+
),
Me2N+
C(H)Ph (2a
+
), and
Et2N+CH2
(3
+
) in aprotic solvents shows that
the replacement of the weakly nucleophilic
counterions SbCl6
-,
AlCl4
-, BF4
-, or
CF3SO3
- by halide ions
(I-, Br-, Cl-) causes a
deshielding of the proton at
the iminium carbon atom (Δδmax = +2.8 for
2a
+
in
CD2Cl2) while the chemical shifts of all
other 1H and 13C nuclei
remain almost unaffected. The solvent dependence of these effects,
14N NMR investigations, and ab initio MO
calculations suggest that iminium halides form
CH···Y- hydrogen bonds (Y = Cl, Br, and I) and
thus exist as
contact ion pairs in acetonitrile, chloroform, dichloromethane, and
dimethyl sulfoxide solutions. In liquid sulfur
dioxide, specific anion−cation interactions cannot be observed due to
the superior solvation of the anions by SO2.