Influence of Substituent Effects on the Formation of P···Cl Pnicogen Bonds or Halogen Bonds

Ab initio MP2/aug′-cc-pVTZ calculations have been carried out in search of equilibrium structures with P···Cl pnicogen bonds or halogen bonds on the potential energy surfaces H₂FP:ClY for Y = F, NC, Cl, CN, CCH, CH₃, and H. Three different types of halogen-bonded complexes with traditional, chlorine-shared, and ion-pair bonds have been identified. Two different pnicogen-bonded complexes have also been found on these surfaces. The most electronegative substituents F and NC form only halogen-bonded complexes, while the most electropositive substituents CH₃ and H form only pnicogen-bonded complexes. The halogen-bonded complexes involving the less electronegative groups Cl and CN are more stable than the corresponding pnicogen-bonded complexes, while the pnicogen-bonded complexes with CCH are more stable than the corresponding halogen-bonded complex. Traditional halogen-bonded complexes are stabilized by charge transfer from the P lone pair to the Cl–A σ* orbital, where A is the atom of Y directly bonded to Cl. Charge transfer from the Cl lone pair to the P–F σ* orbital stabilizes pnicogen-bonded complexes. As a result, the H₂FP unit becomes positively charged in halogen-bonded complexes and negatively charged in pnicogen-bonded complexes. Spin–spin coupling constants ^1X<i>J</i>(P–Cl) for complexes with traditional halogen bonds increase with decreasing P–Cl distance, reach a maximum value for complexes with chlorine-shared halogen bonds, and then decrease and change sign when the bond is an ion-pair bond. ^1p<i>J</i>(P–Cl) coupling constants across pnicogen bonds tend to increase with decreasing P–Cl distance