Chalcogen–Nitrogen Secondary Bonding Interactions in the Gas Phase – Spectrometric Detection of Ionized Benzo-2,1,3-telluradiazole Dimers

The mass spectra of benzo-2,1,3-chalcogenadiazoles, acquired from the equilibrium conditions of the UV-laser desorption/ionization plume, contain isotopic patterns that are characteristic of protonated and ionized dimers. Dispersion-corrected DFT modeling shows that the most stable structures of these dimers feature the supramolecular four-membered Te2N2 ring, which is pervasive in the crystal structures of these compounds. These observations provide the first evidence of the persistence of Te–N supramolecular association in the gas phase.