F. A. Cotton, G. Wilkinson, C. A. Murillo, M. Bochmann,
Advanced Inorganic Chemistry 6th ed (1999).
Unfortunately, both Cotton & Wilkinson have died and there will be no 7th ed of this famous text affectionately called “The Bible” by inorganic chemists.
Nevertheless, the 6th ed is a good place to start a lit search. On page 54 you’ll find that C-H...O interactions although weak are indeed known (but I already knew about Cl3C-H...O (solv)
). On page 826 there is a discussion of Schiff-base cmplxs of Co(II) and their ability to pick up O2. Let’s consider [Co(salen)(DMSO)]O2 in CHCl3:
Co(salen) + DMSO + O2 ⇋ Co(salen)(DMSO)O2
In CHCl3 the equilibrium could indeed lay more to the left due to DMSO....HCCl3 interactions. Because it is a delicate balance it would not take a strong interaction to tip Keq to the left.
How to test? Co(salen) and Co(salen)(DMSO)O2 will have different UV-vis spectra so can determine Keq. (Make up standard soln of Co(salen) under N2.)
Change CHCl3 to CDCl3 (a common NMR solvent): DMSO....DCCl3 interaction expected to be stronger hence a further diminution in Keq; use CH2Cl2 as solvent: much less H-bonding if any at all, but other changes due to solvent effects expected to be small; Keq predicted to increase significantly.