Computational, ¹H NMR, and X-ray structural studies on 1-arylurazole tetrazane dimers

Nitrogen-centered urazole radicals exist in equilibrium with tetrazane dimers in solution. The equilibrium established typically favors the free-radical form. However, 1-arylurazole radicals bearing substituents at the ortho position favor the dimeric form. We were able to determine the structure of one of the dimers (substituted at both ortho positions with methyl groups), namely 1,2-(2,4-dimethylphenyl)-2-[2-(2,4-dimethylphenyl)-4-methyl-3,5-dioxo-1,2,4-triazolidin-1-yl]-4-methyl-1,2,4-triazolidine-3,5-dione, C₂₄H₂₈N₆O₄, via X-ray crystallography. The experimentally determined structure agreed well with the computationally obtained geometry at the B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) level of theory. The preferred syn conformation of these 1-arylurazole dimers results in the two aromatic rings being proximate and nearly parallel, which leads to some interesting shielding effects of certain signals in the ¹H NMR spectrum. Armed with this information, we were able to decipher the more complicated ¹H NMR spectrum obtained from a dimer that was monosubstituted at the ortho position with a methyl group.