'The vibrational spectrum of the pyridiniuln ion, CjHjI\TH+, and the N-deuterated species has been studied in several pyridinium salts. By comparison with benzene and deuterobenzene (with which the p y r i d i n i~~~n ion is isoelectronic) a fairly complete assignment has been made. The N-H bonds, which are hydrogen bonded to the anions, have stretching vibrations which show systematic variations depending on the nature of the anion. The N-H in-plane deformation vibrations show little variation while the out-of-plane deformation vibrations, some of which do vary, are probably affected, in addition, by other factors.
INTRODUCTIONPyridine forms salts with many strong mineral and organic acids. In these salts it is assumed that complete proton transfer taltes place between the acid and the pyridine molecule, giving the pyridinium ion I and an anion.Little spectroscopic data on such salts is available in the published literature." Greenwood and Wade (I) assigned a few bands from their published spectra of C5H6NH+Cl-and C5HSNH+BC14-, while Kynaston and co-workers (2) listed all the bands in the latter salt. Spinner published a list of frequencies in the infrared and Raman spectrum (aqueous solution) of C6H6T\TI-I+C1-(3) and made a few assignments.In these papers emphasis was placed on sinlilarities between these salts and C5HsN. I t is believed that a more pertinent and helpful co~npariso~l is between the pyridiniurn ion and C61-16. These n~olecules contain the same number of atoms, are isoelectronic, and, apart from the mass and electronegativity of the nitrogen atom, would be identical. This physical similarity brealts down, however, when the synlrnetry of the two ~nolecules is compared. C6Ho has D6h, and C6H6NH+ is expected t o have Cz, symmetry. Thus C6H6 has only four (strictly) infrared-active fundamentals and seven Ranlan fundamentals. C6H6NH+ will have 30 Raman-active fundamentals and 27 infrared-active fundamentals. (The selection rules are shown in Table I.) The conlparison between C6HBD and C6HSND+, however, reveals a much closer similarity, since both molecules now have Cz, symmetry, with identical selection rules.