In the present work, the thermochemistry of solution, solvation, and hydrogen bonding of cyclic amides in proton acceptor (B) and proton donor (RXH) solvents were studied. The infinite dilution solution enthalpies of δ-valerolactam, N-methylvalerolactam, ε-caprolactam, and N-methylcaprolactam were measured at 298.15 K. The solvation enthalpies of cyclic amides were calculated based on the measured solution enthalpies and sublimation/vaporization enthalpies from literature. The enthalpies of hydrogen bonding between cyclic amides and proton acceptor and donor solvents were then calculated as a difference between the total solvation enthalpy and the non-specific contribution. The latter was estimated via two different approaches in proton donor and proton accepting solvents. The effect of the cycle size on the strength of hydrogen bonding of the cyclic amides in solution is discussed.
Keywords: cyclic amides; hydrogen bonding; proton acceptors; proton donors; solution calorimetry; solution enthalpies.