Insight into the conformational space of N-benzyl-N-(furan-2-ylmethyl)acetamide by nmr spectroscopy and dft calculations

In this study, the conformational behavior of N-benzyl-N-(furan-2-ylmethyl) acetamide in chloroform was addressed by using a combined experimental/theoretical strategy using NMR spectroscopy and quantum chemical calculations. The ¹H and ¹³C one-dimensional NMR spectra, as well as the two-dimensional HSQC-DEPT and HMBC-DEPT NMR spectra, evinced the presence of a hindered cis(E)-trans(Z) rotational equilibrium in solution. DFT calculations were performed at different theoretical levels using the polarizable continuum model (PCM) and predicted nine (four Z and five E structures) stable conformations. The interconversion dynamics among the different confirmations were established in terms of four different rotational equilibria in CDCl₃. The chemical shifts in the ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectra of the compound are similar to the values calculated for the two most abundant conformational equilibria at room temperature, one caused by two Z rotamers and the other by two E rotamers. The compound was also characterized for the first time by FTIR, Raman spectroscopy, and GC/MS spectrometry. Additionally, several acylation methodologies for synthesizing the title compound from N-benzyl-1-(furan-2-yl)methanamine were tested which resulted in high yields (> 90%) under very convenient conditions (10 min, at room temperature).