Interrelation between H-Bond and Pi-Electron Delocalization

Abstract

Among many various kinds of molecular interactions, the H-bond has a special position. The term is ubiquitous in the world that surrounds us, but also it is often applied in different ways. The H-bond is of great importance in natural sciences. This relates particularly to biological aspects, such as molecular recognition that could be a basis for the creation of life,1-4 formation of higher order structures of peptides and nucleic acids,5 and biochemical processes, particularly the enzymes catalyzed.6,7 One can say that the H-bond plays a double role in biological systems: on one hand, as a relatively strong directional interaction, it leads to relatively stable supramolecular structures, and on the other hand, because of dynamic features of the proton, it is an active site for initiation of chemical reactions. H-bonds are the source of specific properties of associated liquids, with water being the most popular among them.8 Water as a medium in which life was most probably created is saturated by H-bonds with highly mobile protons in between, even in the solid state.9 In many crystal lattices of organic compounds, the H-bonds are a decisive factor governing packing.10 In designing new interesting crystal structures, which is the subject of fast developing crystal engineer* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: slagra@ uni.lodz.pl or slagra@ccmsi.us. Fax: +48-42-6790447. 3513 Chem. Rev. 2005, 105, 3513−3560