Hirshfeld Charge as a Quantitative Measure of Electrophilicity and Nucleophilicity: Nitrogen-Containing Systems

To accurately predict the capability and possible reaction site for atoms in molecules to donate or accept electrons in chemical processes, i.e., to quantitatively determine electrophilicity, nucleophilicity, and regioselectivity, is an important yet incomplete task. Earlier, we proposed using the Hirshfeld charge and information gain as two equivalent descriptors for this purpose, based on the Information Conservation Principle we recently proposed. This idea was successfully applied to two series of molecular systems to confirm its validity. However, our previous work is hindered by the fact that the involved element is carbon. It is unclear if it applies to other elements and to different valence states of the same element. In this study, to address these issues, the method was applied to nitrogen-containing systems. Five different categories of compounds were studied, including benzenediazonium, azodicarboxylate, diazo, and primary and secondary amines, with a total of 40 molecules. The results show that there are strong linear correlations between the Hirshfeld charge and their experimental scales of electrophilicity and nucleophilicity. However, these correlations depend on the valence state and bonding environment of the nitrogen element. The linear relationship only holds within the same category. Possible reasons for this observation are discussed.