Intrinsic Relative Scales of Electrophilicity and Nucleophilicity

Abstract

The formulation of the second-order perturbation approach to the stabilization energy of the A–B interacting species due to charge transfer is revisited. Intrinsic (i.e., electronic) theoretical indices for both relative electrophilicity and nucleophilicity are proposed for any electrophile (A)–nucleophile (B) pairs of combining species. By using the new descriptors, an electronic analogue to the Mayr–Patz linear free relationship has been successfully tested in the context of available experimental evidence reported for reactions of primary and secondary amines with benzhydrylium ions