Properties of the C−H···H Dihydrogen Bond: An ab Initio and Topological Analysis

Abstract

The dihydrogen-bonded complexes of methane and its fluoro and chloro derivatives with lithium hydride are analyzed using ab initio methods as well as the Bader theory. All calculations were performed using Pople's basis sets (6-311++G(d,p), 6-311++G(2df,2pd), and 6-311++G(3df,3pd)) and the Dunning bases (aug-cc-pVDZ and aug-cc-pVTZ) within the MP2 method. The results of the calculations show that the binding energy for the analyzed complexes increases with the increase of the number of fluoro or chloro substituents, up to ∼7 kcal/mol. In the same order there is an increase of the electrostatic energy term, showing that for the CF3H···HLi complex the dihydrogen bond interaction is similar in nature as for the water dimer where a conventional O−H···O hydrogen bond exists, while for the CCl3H···HLi dimer the exchange energy term outweighs the electrostatic energy. Hence, the other attractive energy terms are important. A topological analysis based on the Bader theory supports the results of the ab initio calculations since the electron densities at the H···H bond critical points and the other topological parameters are similar to those calculated for moderate conventional hydrogen bonds.