Abstract

A direct correlation between aromaticity and the thermodynamic stability in the tautomeric equilibrium of 3,3 '-(1,4-phenylene)bis(pentane-2,4-dione) is studied using experimental methods and theoretical approaches. According to the results, the most abundant tautomer corresponds to the bis-beta-keto-enol tautomer when conditions such as temperature, solvent polarity, and pH are deliberately changed. Theoretical results of aromaticity analysis showed good concordance with the experimental results, using rigorous computations such as induced magnetic field (B-ind) and free of in-plane component NICS (FIPC-NICS).