Theoretical analysis of electronic delocalization

Abstract

A block-localized wave function method is introduced to evaluate the electronic delocalization effect in molecules. The wave function for the hypothetical and strictly localized structure is constructed based on the assumption that all electrons and primitive basis functions can be divided into several subgroups; each localized molecular orbital is expanded in terms of primitive orbitals belonging to only one subgroup. The molecular orbitals belonging to the same subgroup are constrained to be mutually orthogonal, while those belonging to different subgroups are free to overlap. The final block-localized wave function at the Hartree–Fock level is expressed by a Slater determinant. In this manner, the energy difference between the Hartree–Fock wave function and the block-localized wave function can be generally defined as the electronic delocalization energy. The method is applied to two cases. The first concerns the resonance stabilization in the allyl ions. We find that the vertical resonance energies for the planar cation and anion are −45.7 (or −44.7) and −46.7 (or −48.2) kcal/mol at the HF/6-31G* (or 6-31+G*) level, respectively. Their rotational barriers are decomposed in terms of conjugation, hyperconjugation, steric effect, and pyramidalization. The n→σ* negative hyperconjugation in the staggered allyl anion is very strong and stabilizes the system by as much as −13 kcal/mol. The second concerns the hyperconjugation effect in propene. Our calculations suggest that the theoretical hyperconjugation energy in propene is about −5 kcal/mol, which is close to the experimental estimate (−2.7 kcal/mol) derived from the hydrogenation heats of propene and ethylene. Comparisons between the results based on the present block-localized wave function method and those based on the natural bond orbital method are presented and discussed. The examples demonstrate that the block-localized wave function method can be employed as a useful model to analyze chemical bondings and intuitive concepts.