A quantitative analysis of the steric effect of aliphatic groups was carried out from first principles. An intuitive framework is proposed that allows the separation and straightforward interpretation of two contributors to the steric effect: steric strain and steric shielding (hindrance). When a sterically demanding group is introduced near a reactive center, deformation of its reactive zone will occur. By quantifying this deformation, a convincing correlation was established with Taft's steric parameters for groups of typical size, supporting the intuitive image of steric shielding; bulky groups slow down the reaction by limiting the accessibility of the reactive centre. On the other hand, the strong initial repulsion between the reactant and the substrate by means of the filled-filled orbital interaction results in the deformation of the substrate as well as a less stabilizing reaction zone, which are the manifestations of the steric strain. We thus conclude that both steric strain and steric hindrance can be derived from the Pauli repulsion evolving between the reactants in the course of the reaction.
An alternative approach for the calculation of DFT-based reactivity descriptors involving derivatives of the energy with respect to the number of electrons and the external potential is further evaluated. Using functional derivatives with respect to the external potential, the finite difference approximation was avoided for the local calculation of the Fukui functions and the dual descriptor. A relevant set of molecules has been calculated after the optimization of computational parameters. It is shown that the new approach correctly predicts the nucleophilic attack on CH2O, the formation of CO metal complexes, the regioselectivity of monosubstituted benzenes, and the softest nucleophilic site in some ambident nucleophiles.
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