Structures, Energetics, and Spectra of (NH) and (OH) Tautomers of 2-(2-Hydroxyphenyl)-1-azaazulene: A Density Functional Theory/Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory Study.

Tautomerization of 2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-1-azaazulene ( 2OHPhAZ ) in the gas phase and ethanol has been studied using B3LYP, M06-2X, and ωB97XD density functional theory (DFT) with different basis sets. For more accurate data, energies were refined at CCSD(T)/6-311++G(2d,2p) in the gas phase. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), aromaticity, Fukui functions, acidity, and basicity were also calculated and compared with experimental data. Time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT)-solvation model based on density (TDDFT-SMD) calculations in acetonitrile have been utilized for the simulation of UV-vis electronic spectra. In addition, electronic structures of the investigated system have been discussed. The results reveal that the enol form ( 2OHPhAZ ) is thermodynamically and kinetically stable relative to the keto tautomer ( 2OPhAZ ) and different rotamers ( 2OHPhAZ-R1:R3 ) in the gas phase and ethanol. A comparison with the experiment illustrates a good agreement and supports the computational findings.