Studies on molecular weaker interactions, spectroscopic analysis and chemical reactivity of synthesized ethyl 3,5-dimethyl-4-[3-(2-nitro-phenyl)-acryloyl]-1H-pyrrole-2-carboxylate through experimental and quantum chemical approaches

Abstract Ethyl 3,5-dimethyl-4-[3-(2-nitro-phenyl)-acryloyl]-1 H -pyrrole-2-carboxylate (EDNPAPC) has been synthesized and characterized by 1 H NMR, UV–Vis, FT-IR and Mass spectroscopy. Geometrical, spectral, thermodynamic properties have been calculated and evaluated using DFT level of theory, B3LYP functional and 6-31G(d,p) basis set. The observed absorption peaks at 364, 308 and 256 nm are corresponds to the calculated electronic transitions at 352, 286 nm and 252 nm respectively. The experimental data shows red shift in comparison to the calculated. The detailed vibrational analysis has been carried out with the aid of potential energy distribution (PED) and the experimental FTIR peaks confirm red shifts in N H and C O stretching bond as result of dimer formation. The multiple interactions present in the molecule have been evaluated with the help of QTAIM theory. The ellipticity values confirm the presence of resonance assisted hydrogen bonding in dimer formation. The binding energy of dimer formation through DFT and AIM calculations has been found to be 13.94 and 15.22 kcal/mol respectively. The binding energy of dimer after basis set superposition error (BSSE) found to be as 10.54 kcal/mol. Theoretical result from reactivity descriptors show that C6, C13 and C15 are more reactive sites for nucleophilic attack within molecule favoring the formation of heterocyclic compounds such as pyrazoline and oxazoline. The calculated β 0 values for monomer and dimer are found to be as 1.8 × 10 −30 , 7.8 × 10 −30  esu, respectively, indicating that this pyrrole chalcone is an attractive material for nonlinear optical (NLO) applications.