Non-covalent interactions
A hydrogen bond (H-bond), is a specific type of interaction that involves dipole-dipole attraction between a partially positive hydrogen atom and a highly electronegative, partially negative oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, or fluorine atom (not covalently bound to said hydrogen atom). It is not a covalent bond, but instead is classified as a strong non-covalent interaction. It is responsible for why water is a liquid at room temperature and not a gas (given water's low molecular weight). Most commonly, the strength of hydrogen bonds lies between 0 - 4 kcal/mol, but can sometimes be as strong as 40 kcal/mol In solvents such as chloroform or carbontetrachloride one observes e.g. for the interaction between amides additive values of about 5 kJ/mol. According to L. Pauling the strength of a hydrogen bond is essentially determined by the electrostatic charges. Measurements of thousands complexes in chloroform or carbontetrachloride have led to additive free energy increments for all kind of donor-acceptor combinations.
Hydrogen-bridged cations
The most significant trait of bridging hydrogens in NMR spectra is their upfield shift. Due to the increased number of bonds that the hydrogen atom is part of, the higher electron density around hydrogen shields the H nucleus, causing its chemical shift to appear at negative ppm. Characterization of the dimethylcyclodecyl ion by Sorensen in 1978 relied on low-temperature NMR, as the ion slowly decomposes at above -70 °C, and showed the bridging hydrogen at δ -3.9. McMurry's characterization of the more stable "in"-bicyclo[4,4,4]-tetradecyl cation showed two broad 12 proton peaks at δ 2.5 and 1.9, and a broad proton singlet at δ -3.46. Depending on the length of bridging chains in a similar bridged bicyclo[3,3,1]-nonyl cations the upfield shift of the bridging hydrogen can vary from δ -6.50 to 0.07. This is actually due to a change in C-H-C bond angle, where change in bond angle affects the bonding nature of the 3 center-2 electron bond.