The resonance-assisted hydrogen bond (HB) phenomenon has been studied theoretically by a localized molecular orbital (LMO) decomposition of the spin-spin coupling constants between atoms either involved or close to the O-H···O system of some β-diketones and their saturated counterparts. The analysis, carried out at the level of the second-order polarization propagator approximation, shows that the contributions in terms of LMO to the paramagnetic spin orbital and the spin dipolar Ramsey terms proof the importance of the delocalized π-electron structure supporting the idea of the existence of the resonance-assisted HB phenomenon phenomenon. The LMO contributions to the Fermi contact term indicate mainly the presence of the HB that may or not be linked to the π-electrons.
Keywords: 13C; 17O; 1H; NMR; Ramsey contribution to SSCC; localized molecular orbitals; resonance-assisted hydrogen bond.
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