Enhanced Li+ binding energies of some azines: a molecular orbital study

Summary Hartree-Fock calculations with the 6–31G* basis have been performed to investigate the structure and Li⁺ binding energies of the complexes between Li⁺ and pyridine, diazines, triazines and tetrazines. Structures have been fully optimized at the 3–21G level. As for azole-Li⁺ and methyldiazole-Li⁺ complexes, a topological analysis of the Laplacian of the electronic charge density reveals that the azine-Li⁺ is a typical closed-shell interaction and that the stabilization of the complex is mainly electrostatic. BSSE is quite significant, specially for Li⁺-bridging complexes. The correlation between calculated Li⁺ binding energies and proton affinities follows two different linear relationships, one for those cases where Li⁺ is singly coordinated and a different one for those cases in which an additional three-membered ring is formed. The enhanced stability of these particular conformations explains why while polyazines are less basic than pyridine when the reference acid is a proton; pyridazine and 1,2,4 triazine are more basic than pyridine when the reference acid is Li⁺. The effect on Li⁺ binding energies of systematic nitrogen substitution roughly follows an additive model.