Intrinsic Dynamic and Static Nature of Halogen Bonding in Neutral Polybromine Clusters,with the Structural Feature Elucidated by QTAIM Dual-Functional Analysis and MO Calculations

The intrinsic dynamic and static nature of noncovalent Br-∗-Br interactions in neutral polybromine clusters is elucidated for Br₄–Br₁₂, applying QTAIM dual-functional analysis (QTAIM-DFA). The asterisk (∗) emphasizes the existence of the bond critical point (BCP) on the interaction in question. Data from the fully optimized structures correspond to the static nature of the interactions. The intrinsic dynamic nature originates from those of the perturbed structures generated using the coordinates derived from the compliance constants for the interactions and the fully optimized structures. The noncovalent Br-∗-Br interactions in the L-shaped clusters of the C_s symmetry are predicted to have the typical hydrogen bond nature without covalency, although the first ones in the sequences have the vdW nature. The L-shaped clusters are stabilized by the n(Br)→σ*(Br–Br) interactions. The compliance constants for the corresponding noncovalent interactions are strongly correlated to the E(2) values based on NBO. Indeed, the MO energies seem not to contribute to stabilizing Br₄ (C_2h) and Br₄ (D_2d), but the core potentials stabilize them, relative to the case of 2Br₂; this is possibly due to the reduced nuclear–electron distances, on average, for the dimers.