The most negative-valued molecular electrostatic potential (MESP) minimum (V
min) observed over
the benzene ring is proposed as a sensitive quantity for the analysis of the electronic perturbations due to the
substituents attached to it. MESP topography of 45 doubly substituted benzenes is mapped at HF/6-31G**
level for an appraisal of this proposition. The V
min values are seen to clearly reflect the changes due to the
different orientations (para, meta, and ortho) and conformations of the substituents and different mechanisms
of electron donation or withdrawal. Good linear correlations are obtained with V
min and the experimentally
determined σ values of the ortho- and meta-disubstituted benzenes. New quantities, D
p, D
m, and D
o, introduced
in this work as the substituent pair-constants respectively for the para, meta, and ortho arrangements, provide
a quantitative measure of the simultaneous effect of two substituents over the aromatic nucleus. The predictive
power of these quantities is checked in the case of some triply substituted benzenes using an equation V
min =
V
ben + ∑ΔV
min(mono) − ∑D
p − ∑D
m − ∑D
o where V
ben is the MESP minimum of benzene and ΔV
min(mono)
is the difference between the monosubstituted benzene V
min and V
ben. These predicted values are in fairly
good agreement with the MESP values obtained at HF/6-31G** level.