Structural study of 1- and 2-naphthol: new insights into the non-covalent H–H interaction in <i>cis</i>-1-naphthol
Arsh S. Hazrah, Sadisha Nanayakkara, Nathan A. Seifert, Elfi Kraka, Wolfgang Jäger
Abstract
-1-naphthol is a result of a close-contact H-atom-H-atom interaction. This type of H-H interaction has been the subject of much controversy in the past and we provide here an in-depth theoretical analysis of it. The naphthol system is particularly well-suited for such analysis as it provides internal standards with its four different isomers. The methods used include quantum theory of atoms in molecules, non-covalent interactions, independent gradient model, local vibrational mode, charge model 5, and natural bond orbital analyses. We demonstrate that the close-contact H-H interaction is neither a purely attractive nor repulsive interaction, but rather a mixture of the two.