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Review
. 2020 Jan 13;59(3):984-1001.
doi: 10.1002/anie.201910085. Epub 2019 Nov 12.

Charge-Shift Bonding: A New and Unique Form of Bonding

Sason Shaik  1 , David Danovich  1 , John Morrison Galbraith  2 , Benoît Braïda  3 , Wei Wu  4 , Philippe C Hiberty  5
Affiliations
Review

Charge-Shift Bonding: A New and Unique Form of Bonding

Sason Shaik et al. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. .

Abstract

Charge-shift bonds (CSBs) constitute a new class of bonds different than covalent/polar-covalent and ionic bonds. Bonding in CSBs does not arise from either the covalent or the ionic structures of the bond, but rather from the resonance interaction between the structures. This Essay describes the reasons why the CSB family was overlooked by valence-bond pioneers and then demonstrates that the unique status of CSBs is not theory-dependent. Thus, valence bond (VB), molecular orbital (MO), and energy decomposition analysis (EDA), as well as a variety of electron density theories all show the distinction of CSBs vis-à-vis covalent and ionic bonds. Furthermore, the covalent-ionic resonance energy can be quantified from experiment, and hence has the same essential status as resonance energies of organic molecules, e.g., benzene. The Essay ends by arguing that CSBs are a distinct family of bonding, with a potential to bring about a Renaissance in the mental map of the chemical bond, and to contribute to productive chemical diversity.

Keywords: bond theory; charge-shift bonds; covalent bonds; ionic bonds; valence bonds.

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References

    1. S. Shaik, J. Comput. Chem. 2007, 28, 51.
    1. B. Bensaude-Vincent, I. Stengers, A History of Chemistry, English translation (Ed.: D. van Dam), Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1996, p. 74.
    1. None
    1. W. H. Brock, The Norton History of Chemistry, W. W. Norton & Co. New York, 1993, pp. 150, 152-154;
    1. W. H. Brock, The Norton History of Chemistry, W. W. Norton & Co. New York, 1993, p. 469.

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