Unveiling the Noncovalent Interactions between Formamide and Heteroaromatics: Microwave Spectroscopy of the Formamide Complexes with Furan and Thiophene

The noncovalent interactions between formamide (FM) and the heteroaromatic compounds (furan and thiophene) were investigated through microwave spectroscopy and theoretical calculations. Each of the investigated complexes exhibits a single rotational spectrum corresponding to the lowest energy structure predicted theoretically. In the detected structures, N-H···O and C-H···O hydrogen bonds dominate the complexation between FM and furan, resulting in a planar configuration. Conversely, a superposed configuration linked by a N-H···π hydrogen bond and C═O···π contact is observed for the FM-thiophene complex. In both cases, hydrogen bonding interactions with N-H as proton donor rank as the dominant forces, and the interaction energy of N-H···O is larger than that of N-H···π. It was found that the electrostatic component is the largest contributor to the attraction between FM and furan, while the dispersion component is the most significant attractive factor in the FM-thiophene complex. These findings highlight the distinct features of hydrogen bonding interactions of amides with heteroaromatics in the studied complexes.