Nitronyl nitroxide derivatives carrying a hydroquinone or a
resorcinol moiety 2-(2‘,5‘-dihydroxyphenyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazolyl-1-oxyl-3-oxide
(HQNN) and 2-(3‘,5‘-dihydroxyphenyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazolyl-1-oxyl 3-oxide (RSNN))
have been designed and prepared. These compounds
were found to afford hydrogen-bonded crystals. In the case of
HQNN, two phases of crystals (α- and β-HQNN)
were obtained. Of these, the crystal structure of α-HQNN is
characterized by the intramolecular hydrogen bond
between the o-hydroxy group and the nitronyl nitroxide and
by the intermolecular one-dimensional hydrogen-bonded
chain between the o- and p-hydroxy groups of the
neighboring molecules, respectively. Two of the
hydrogen-bonded chains run in parallel, and they are connected by the bifurcated
hydrogen bonds formed between the o-hydroxy
groups of the facing molecules in the individual chain. The
χT value of this crystal increased monotonously
with
lowering temperature (ST model, J = +0.93 K, θ =
+0.46 K) and turned out to exhibit a ferromagnetic phase
transition at 0.5 K. On the basis of the heat capacity data,
α-HQNN was found to be a three-dimensional ferromagnet.
On the other hand, the crystal of β-HQNN was characterized by
the intermolecular hydrogen-bonded chain formed
between the hydroxy group at the meta position and the
nitronyl nitroxide and by the interchain π−π stacking.
The
magnetic interaction of β-HQNN was interpreted by the ferromagnetic
ST model, and this ferromagnetic interaction
(J = +5.0 K) was accompanied by a weak antiferromagnetic
interaction (θ = −0.32 K) at lower temperatures.
Although the structural feature of the crystal of RSNN resembles
that of the β-HQNN, it exhibited the antiferromagnetic
interaction predominantly (ST model, J = +10.0 K, θ
= −4.0 K). These magnetic behaviors are consistent
with
McConnell's theory, when the spin densities at the interacting sites
connected by hydrogen bonds are taken into
account. Thus, it may be concluded that the hydrogen bond plays a
role not only in constructing hydrogen-bonded
crystals but also in transmitting spin polarization along the hydrogen
bond.