Noncovalent interactions involving aromatic rings, which include π-stacking interactions, anion-π interactions, and XH-π interactions, among others, are ubiquitous in chemical and biochemical systems. Despite dramatic advances in our understanding of these interactions over the past decade, many aspects of these noncovalent interactions have only recently been uncovered, with many questions remaining. We summarize our computational studies aimed at understanding the impact of substituents and heteroatoms on these noncovalent interactions. In particular, we discuss our local, direct interaction model of substituent effects in π-stacking interactions. In this model, substituent effects are dominated by electrostatic interactions of the local dipoles associated with the substituents and the electric field of the other ring. The implications of the local nature of substituent effects on π-stacking interactions in larger systems are discussed, with examples given for complexes with carbon nanotubes and a small graphene model, as well as model stacked discotic systems. We also discuss related issues involving the interpretation of electrostatic potential (ESP) maps. Although ESP maps are widely used in discussions of noncovalent interactions, they are often misinterpreted. Next, we provide an alternative explanation for the origin of anion-π interactions involving substituted benzenes and N-heterocycles, and show that these interactions are well-described by simple models based solely on charge-dipole interactions. Finally, we summarize our recent work on the physical nature of substituent effects in XH-π interactions. Together, these results paint a more complete picture of noncovalent interactions involving aromatic rings and provide a firm conceptual foundation for the rational exploitation of these interactions in a myriad of chemical contexts.

What's in a name? The phrase “aromatic interactions” is widely used to describe noncovalent interactions involving aromatic rings. However, computed stacking energies suggest that disruption of the aromatic π delocalization can enhance many of these interactions and also render them orientation‐dependent. Because of these effects, the use of nonaromatic systems should be advantageous in supramolecular chemistry.

Non-covalent interactions with aromatic rings pervade modern chemical research. The strength and orientation of these interactions can be tuned and controlled through substituent effects. Computational studies of model complexes have provided a detailed understanding of the origin and nature of these substituent effects, and pinpointed flaws in entrenched models of these interactions in the literature. Here, we provide a brief review of efforts over the last decade to unravel the origin of substituent effects in π-stacking, XH/π, and ion/π interactions through detailed computational studies. We highlight recent progress that has been made, while also uncovering areas where future studies are warranted.

XH/π interactions (e.g.: CH/π, OH/π, etc.) are ubiquitous in chemical and biochemical contexts. Although there have been many studies of substituent effects in XH/π interactions, there have been only limited systematic studies covering a broad range of substituents. We provide a comprehensive and systematic study aimed at unraveling the nature of aryl substituent effects on model BH/π, CH/π, NH/π, OH/π, and F/π interactions (e.g.: BH3···C6H5Y, CH4···C6H5Y, etc.) based on estimated CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVTZ interaction energies as well as symmetry-adapted perturbation theory (SAPT) results. We show that the impact of substituents on XH/π interactions depends strongly on the identity of the XH group, and the strength of these effects increases with increasing polarization of the XH bond. Overall, the results are in accord with previous work and follow expected trends from basic physical principles. That is, electrostatic effects dominate the substituent effects for the polar XH/π interactions (NH/π, OH/π, and FH/π), while dispersion effects are more important for the nonpolar BH/π and CH/π interactions. The electrostatic component of these interactions is shown to correlate well with Hammett constants (σm), while accounting for the dispersion component requires consideration of molar refractivities (MR) and interaction distances concurrently. The correlation of the dispersion component of these interactions with MR values alone is rather weak.

We show that the positive electrostatic potentials and molecular quadrupole moments characteristic of π-acidic azines, which underlie the ability of these rings to bind anions above their centres, arise from the position of nuclear charges, not changes in the π-electron density distribution.