Halogen and hydrogen bonding to the Br atom in complexes of FBr

Enhancement of Halogen Bond Strength by Intramolecular H-Bonds

Quantum calculations study the potential of an intramolecular H-bond between the halogen atom (X) of a halobenzene and a substituent placed ortho to it, to amplify the ability of X to engage in a halogen bond (XB) with a Lewis base. H-bonding substituents NH₂, CH₂CH₂OH, CH₂OH, OH, and COOH were added to halobenzenes (X = Cl, Br, I). The amino group had little effect, but those containing OH increased the CX···N XB energy to a NH₃ nucleophile by about 0.5 kcal/mol; the increment associated with COOH is larger, nearly 2 kcal/mol. These energy increments were approximately doubled if two such H-bonding substituents are present. Combining a pair of ortho COOH groups with an electron-withdrawing NO₂ group in the para position has a particularly large effect, raising the XB energy by about 4 kcal/mol, which can amount to as much as a 4-fold magnification.

Xenon Derivatives as Aerogen Bond-Donating Catalysts for Organic Transformations: A Theoretical Study on the Metaphorical "Spherical Cow in a Vacuum" Provides Insights into Noncovalent Organocatalysis

Computations indicate that cationic and noncharged xenon derivatives should exhibit higher catalytic activity than their iodine-based noncovalent organocatalytic congeners. Perfluorophenyl xenonium(II) is expected to demonstrate the best balance between catalytic activity and chemical stability for use in organocatalysis. Comparing its catalytic activity with that of isoelectronic perfluoroiodobenzene indicates that the high catalytic activity of cationic noncovalent organocatalysts is predominantly attributed to the electrostatic interactions with the reaction substrates, which cause the polarization of ligated species during the reaction progress. In contrast, the electron transfer and covalent contributions to the bonding between the catalyst and substrate have negligible effects. The dominant effect of electrostatic interactions results in a strong negative correlation between the calculated Gibbs free energies of activation for the modeled reactions and the highest potentials of the σ-holes on the central atoms of the catalysts. No such correlation is observed for noncharged catalysts.

Cooperation/Competition between Halogen Bonds and Hydrogen Bonds in Complexes of 2,6-Diaminopyridines and X-CY3 (X = Cl, Br; Y = H, F)

The DFT calculations have been performed on a series of two-element complexes formed by substituted 2,6-diaminopyridine (R−PDA) and pyridine (R−Pyr) with X−CY3 molecules (where X = Cl, Br and Y = H, F). The primary aim of this study was to examine the intermolecular hydrogen and halogen bonds in the condition of their mutual coexistence. Symmetry/antisymmetry of the interrelation between three individual interactions is addressed. It appears that halogen bonds play the main role in the stabilization of the structures of the selected systems. However, the occurrence of one or two hydrogen bonds was associated with the favourable geometry of the complexes. Moreover, the impact of different substituent groups attached in the para position to the aromatic ring of the 2,6-diaminopyridine and pyridine on the character of the intermolecular hydrogen and halogen bonds was examined. The results indicate that the presence of electron-donating substituents strengthens the bonds. In turn, the presence of electron-withdrawing substituents reduces the strength of halogen bonds. Additionally, when hydrogen and halogen bonds lose their leading role in the complex formation, the nonspecific electrostatic interactions between dipole moments take their place. Analysis was based on geometric, energetic, and topological parameters of the studied systems.

Polycentric binding in complexes of trimethylamine-N-oxide with dihalogens

Dihalogens readily interact with trimethylamine-N-oxide under ambient conditions. Accordingly, herein, stable 1 : 1 adducts were obtained in the case of iodine chloride and iodine bromide. The crystal and molecular structure of the trimethylamine-N-oxide-iodine chloride adduct was solved. Furthermore, the geometry and electronic structure of the trimethylamine-N-oxide-dihalogen complexes were studied computationally. Only molecular ensembles were found in the global minimum for the 1 : 1 stoichiometry. The O⋯X-Y halogen bond is the main factor for the thermodynamic stability of these complexes. Arguments for electrostatic interactions as the driving force for this noncovalent interaction were discussed. Also, the equilibrium structures are additionally stabilised by weak C-H⋯X hydrogen bonds. Consequently, formally monodentate ligands are bound in a polycentric manner.

Intermolecular interactions between σ- and π-holes of bromopentafluorobenzene and pyridine: computational and experimental investigations

The characters of σ- and π-holes of bromopentafluorobenzene (C6F5Br) enable it to interact with an electron-rich atom or group like pyridine which possesses an electron lone-pair N atom and a π ring. Theoretical studies of intermolecular interactions between C6F5Br and C5H5N have been carried out at the M06-2X/aug-cc-pVDZ level without and with the counterpoise method, together with single point calculations at M06-2X/TZVP, wB97-XD/aug-cc-pVDZ and CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVDZ levels. The σ- and π-holes of C6F5Br exhibiting positive electrostatic potentials make these sites favorably interact with the N atom and the π ring of C5H5N with negative electrostatic potentials, leading to five different dimers connected by a σ-holen bond, a σ-holeπ bond or a π-holeπ bond. Their geometrical structures, characteristics, nature and spectroscopy behaviors were systematically investigated. EDA analyses reveal that the driving forces in these dimers are different. NCI, QTAIM and NBO analyses confirm the existence of intermolecular interactions formed via σ- and π-holes of C6F5Br and the N atom and the π ring of C5H5N. The experimental IR and Raman spectra gave us important information about the formation of molecular complexes between C6F5Br and C5H5N. We expect that the results could provide valuable insights into the investigation of intermolecular interactions involving σ- and π-holes.

Multicenter (FX)n/NH₃ Halogen Bonds (X = Cl, Br and n = 1-5). QTAIM Descriptors of the Strength of the X∙∙∙N Interaction

In the present work an in depth deep electronic study of multicenter XBs (FX)_n/NH₃ (X = Cl, Br and n = 1–5) is conducted. The ways in which X∙∙∙X lateral contacts affect the electrostatic or covalent nature of the X∙∙∙N interactions are explored at the CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVTZ level and in the framework of the quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM). Calculations show that relatively strong XBs have been found with interaction energies lying between −41 and −90 kJ mol⁻¹ for chlorine complexes, and between −56 and −113 kJ mol⁻¹ for bromine complexes. QTAIM parameters reveal that in these complexes: (i) local (kinetics and potential) energy densities measure the ability that the system has to concentrate electron charge density at the intermolecular X∙∙∙N region; (ii) the delocalization indices [δ(A,B)] and the exchange contribution [V_EX(X,N)] of the interacting quantum atoms (IQA) scheme, could constitute a quantitative measure of the covalence of these molecular interactions; (iii) both classical electrostatic and quantum exchange show high values, indicating that strong ionic and covalent contributions are not mutually exclusive.

Competition and cooperativity of σ-hole and π-hole intermolecular interactions between carbon monoxide and bromopentafluorobenzene

The electronic complementary relationship between C₆F₅Br and CO enables them to interact with each other via σ-hole and π-hole intermolecular interactions.

Theoretical investigation of the coupling between hydrogen-atom transfer and stacking interaction in adenine-thymine dimers

Three different dimers of the adenine-thymine (A-T) base pair are studied to point out the changes of important properties (structure, atomic charge, energy and so on) induced by coupling between the movement of the atoms in the hydrogen bonds and the stacking interaction. The comparison of these results with those for the A-T monomer system explains the role of the stacking interaction in the hydrogen-atom transfer in this biologically important base pair. The results support the idea that this coupling depends on the exact dimer considered and is different for the N-N and N-O hydrogen bonds. In particular, the correlation between the hydrogen transfer and the stacking interaction is more relevant for the N-N bridge than for the N-O one. Also, the two different mechanisms of two-hydrogen transfer (step by step and concerted) can be modified by the stacking interaction between the base pairs.

Halogen as halogen-bonding donor and hydrogen-bonding acceptor simultaneously in ring-shaped H3N·X(Y)·HF (X = Cl, Br and Y = F, Cl, Br) complexes

A series of ring-shaped molecular complexes formed by H(3)N, HF and XY (X = Cl, Br and Y = F, Cl, Br) have been investigated at the MP2/aug-cc-pVTZ level of theory. Their optimized geometry, stretching mode, and interaction energy have been obtained. We found that each complex possesses two red-shifted hydrogen bonds and one red-shifted halogen bond, and the two hydrogen bonds exhibit strong cooperative effects on the halogen bond. The cooperativity among the NH(3)···FH, FH···XY and H(3)N···XY interactions leads to the formations of these complexes. The AIM analysis has been performed at the CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVQZ level of theory to examine the topological characteristics at the bond critical point and at the ring critical point, confirming the coexistence of the two hydrogen bonds and one halogen bond for each complex. The NBO analysis carried out at the B3LYP/aug-cc-pVTZ level of theory demonstrates the effects of hyperconjugation, hybridization, and polarization coming into play during the hydrogen and halogen bonding formations processes, based on which a clockwise loop of charge transfer was discovered. The molecular electrostatic potential has been employed to explore the formation mechanisms of these molecular complexes.