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

Abstract 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 Te 2 N 2 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.