Unconventional C—Hlg···H–C (Hlg = Cl, Br, and I) Interactions Involving Organic Halides: A Theoretical Study

In this study, unconventional C-Hlg···H-C (Hlg = Cl, Br, and I) interactions involving sp, sp², and sp³ organic halides were investigated at the RI-MP2/aug-cc-pVQZ level of theory. Energy Decomposition Analyses (EDA) and Natural Bonding Orbital (NBO) studies showed that these intermolecular contacts are mainly supported by orbital and dispersion contributions, which counteracted the unfavorable/slightly favorable electrostatics due to the halogen-hydrogen σ-hole facing. In addition, the Bader's Quantum Theory of Atoms in Molecules (QTAIM) and the Noncovalent Interaction plot (NCIplot) visual index methodologies were used to further characterize the interactions discussed herein. We expect that the results reported herein will be useful in the fields of supramolecular chemistry, crystal engineering, and rational drug design, where the fine tuning of noncovalent interactions is crucial to achieve molecular recognition or a specific solid-state architecture.