The strength and length of donor-acceptor bonds in molecular complexes

Numerous published data on the structure and thermodynamics of formation of molecular complexes are analyzed. The enthalpies of complexation (−ΔH) are related to the characteristic parameter Δr = [r _DA−a ₁(r _D+r _A)], where r _DA is the donor-acceptor bond length determined by microwave spectroscopy and X-ray analysis, r _D and r _A are the tabulated values of the homopolar covalent radii of the heteroatoms that form the donor-acceptor bond, and a ₁ is an empirical coefficient equal to 0.901±0.007. The relation between −ΔH and Δr values has the form −ΔH = a ₂/Δr (a ₂ = 21.6±1.6 kJ Å mol⁻¹), with a mean relative error of approximation of about 15% and a correlation coefficient of 0.97. As the strength of the complex increases, the donor-acceptor bond length approaches the sum of the heteropolar covalent radii of the atoms involved in the bond (Δr tends to zero). At Δr ≫ 1, the strength of complexes is determined by weak van der Waals interactions between the complex components and the −ΔH values tend to zero. Dedicated to the memory of E. N. Guryanova (1911–2004), a prominent scientist who formulated the basic principles elaborated by her disciples in this review. Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 10, pp. 1869–1878, October, 2007.