The present study reveals that the fully miscible binary mixtures consisting of tert-butanol with aprotic solvents form well-defined ordered supermolecular structures, which have been characterized on different length scales. Three different types of microstructures have been determined. They are separated by distinct crossovers that appear as a function of the dilution rate, going from "correlated clusters" to "diluted clusters" and "diluted monomer" microstructures. These observations have been made possible by the combination of Raman vibration spectroscopy, (1)H NMR, and neutron diffraction that probe, respectively, the cluster formation (self-association) and the intercluster correlations (cluster segregation). The solvation effects on both the cluster formation and the intercluster correlations have been assessed by tuning the alcohol-solvent interaction, i.e., changing the chemical nature of the diluting solvent from a purely inert alkane to a weakly interacting aromatic system.

Full profiles of the components (positive and negative) of density functional reactivity theory (DFRT) based stabilization energy with respect to the amount of charge transfer (ΔN) are investigated on three different Diels-Alder pairs and twelve different charge transfer complexes formed by BH-NH and their derivatives. One interesting observation is that the stabilization energy is zero when the charge transfer (ΔN) is either zero (lower limit, L.L.) or two times (higher limit, H.L.) the charge transfer at equilibrium (i.e., when chemical potentials are equalized). However, the existence of zero stabilization energy at the zero charge transfer limit is counter-argued after the inclusion of first and second order effects (due to a perturbing external potential of the partner of a given atom-in-a-molecule) in the individual energy components as well as the overall stabilization energy expressions. It has been shown that even when ΔN is zero (the lower limit), the net energy change is negative (i.e., the combined system is stabilized), highlighting the role of non-bonding interactions, rather than charge-transfer, in stabilizing the combined system at the initial stage of adduct formation. The higher limit (H.L.) of charge transfer is also shifted to a much lower value due to the inclusion of this external potential perturbation.

In the present article a formalism and the corresponding computational method is developed to take care of the variation of stabilization energy with solvent polarity in the process of adduct formation. For this purpose, a simple but physically insightful definition of “net desolvation energy” is proposed keeping in mind the sequence of events taking place in the process of adduct formation in a solvent. The approach used here is based on density functional reactivity theory (DFRT) and the representative samples chosen are adduct formation between (a) methyltrioxorhenium (MTO) and pyridine and (b) (azidomethyl)benzene and methylpropiolate. The generated data in case (a) is correlated with already known experimental parameter that is, formation constant (Kf). The observed trends claim that with the increase in solvent polarity interaction (or stabilization) energy becomes less negative which means that on increasing the solvent polarity the chances of adduct formation are less. This is further supported by calculating hardness values of adducts in different solvents which goes on decreasing with the increase in solvent polarity. Here, the computed data show that on increasing the polarity (i.e., dielectric constant) of the solvent, the “net desolvation energy” increases. Finally, when “net desolvation energy” is added to the stabilization energy obtained from DFRT the predicted trends are achieved.

In the present work, an attempt is made to establish the correlation between equilibrium constant and stabilization energy [ΔE SE(AB)] generated from density functional reactivity theory (DFRT). The reactions chosen here are of type A + B ⇌ AB (i.e., adduct formation type) between an electron acceptor, A, and an electron donor, B. The representative acceptors are methyltrioxorhenium (MTO) and substituted benzaldehydes whereas donors are 26 mono- and bidentate ligands (having N-donors) and semicarbazide. The trends of experimentally generated equilibrium constant (K) values match with those of ΔE SE(AB) in most of the cases, both in gas phase as well as in solvent. Justification of this reliable correlation is provided analytically using the expressions of standard Gibbs free energy of reaction (i.e., Δ r G θ) and the stabilization energy expression generated by DFRT. A further analytical explanation (albeit not very rigorous) is provided through statistical thermodynamics showing how equilibrium constant (K) is related to ΔE SE(AB) for reactions of the type A + B ⇌ AB, where either A or B is a common species.