Imidacloprid and Related Compounds: Structure and Water Solubility ofN-Alkyl Derivatives of Imidacloprid

An intramolecular hydrogen bond between NH•••O2N in insecticide, imidacloprid (1), and its nitromethylene analog 15 was proved by NMR and IR spectra. That electron delocalization over their planar moieties was disrupted by alkylation at the imidazolidine nitrogen atom is demonstrated by the hypsochromic shifts in UV and deshielding effect in NMR spectra. Interestingly, the N-alkyl derivatives (C1-5) had greater water solubility than 1, although increasing alkyl chain length decreased the solubility. The hydrophilicity of the alkyl derivatives would result from remote charge heads being formed as a result of the conjugation disruption by alkylation, while the hydrophobicity of 1 could be ascribed to the charge distribution over the conjugated system coupled with the intramolecular H-bonding. The greater water solubility of 15 than 1 and contrastively small solubility of the cyanoimine analogue are discussed based on the difference in their steric crowding.