Intramolecular Hydrogen Bonding in (2-Hydroxybenzoyl)benzoylmethane Enol

In the stable enol tautomer of the title compound (OHDBM), one carbonyl group is flanked by two β-hydroxy groups, giving rise to bifold intramolecular H-bonding. A similar situation is found in other β,β'-dihydroxy carbonyl compounds like chrysazin, anthralin, 2,2'-dihydroxybenzophenone, and the dienol form of 1,3-dibenzoylacetone. But in these examples the two H-bonds are equivalent, while in the case of OHDBM they are chemically different, involving one enolic and one phenolic hydroxy group. OHDBM is thus an interesting model compound with two competing H-bonds to the same carbonyl group. In this communication we report some results of an IR spectroscopic and quantum theoretical investigation of the molecular and vibrational structure of OHDBM.