π-Stacking effects on the hydrogen bonding capacity of methyl 2-naphthoate

pi-stacking effects of fused two-ring system of methyl 2-naphthoate (MNP) with benzene derivatives on the CO group, as a hydrogen bond acceptor, has been investigated by the quantum mechanical calculations at the M06-2X/6-311++G(d,p) level of theory. All substituents enhance the stacking interactions relative to the unsubstituted case, where enhancement is higher for electron-withdrawing substituents (EWSs). The hydrogen bonding ability of lone pairs of O* atom of stacked MNP decreases in the presence of strong electron-withdrawing substituents (NO2, NO and CN). The hydrogen bond ability of -CO group of MNP is related to the sum of local minima of electrostatic potentials (Sigma ESPs) observed between stacked rings. The charge transfer (CT) is lower in the presence of EWSs. The study also shows that the interaction energies (Delta E) are linearly dependent on the combination of the sum of electron densities calculated at the bond critical points (BCPs) between the rings (Sigma rho(BCP)) and the sum of electron charge densities calculated at the ring critical points (Sigma rho(RCP)). There are good relationships between the Hammett constant sigma(meta) and the global minimum of electrostatic potential around the O* atom (V-min), the sum of local minima of the electrostatic potentials obtained between stacked rings, and the results of natural population analysis (NPA). An excellent correlation was found between the Delta E values and a combination of the electrostatic (sigma(meta)), resonance/induction (sigma(para)) and dispersion/polarizibility (molar refractivity, MR) substituent constant terms. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.