Towards universal substituent constants: Parameterizing bond critical point properties with electronegativity descriptors

The properties of substituents have long been quantified by their effect elsewhere in a molecule. Ideally, intrinsic properties detailing the true properties of a substituent would be used. These properties are ideally transferable between molecules, to be robust and applied in different situations. Through a study on the bond critical point (BCP) properties of 117 substituents and 17 substrates we find that BCP properties from the quantum theory of atoms in molecules are not transferable between different bonded atoms. However, a substituent's changing electronegativity between substrates help quantify the observed variation. The relationship between changing electronegativities and critical point properties enables development of a relationship to predict critical point properties between a substituent and a new substrate, using only the electronegativity of a substituent attached to hydrogen, and the critical point property between the substituent and H.