Local description of the through phenyl transfer of a negative charge within resonance theory: topological effects in xylylene radical anions Original Research Article

The topological effects specifying a di-substituted phenyl ring bearing a negative charge are investigated by considering the radical anions of para- and meta-xylylene isomers as model systems. The super exchange (SE) and double exchange (DE) component mechanisms describing the through phenyl transfer of a negative charge are considered and examined within `resonanceʹ or `mesomericʹ theory. The radical anion electronic events characterizing the DE and SE resonance structures are investigated by means of poly-electron population analysis. Correlated ab initio MO wavefunctions are used as the starting material in our calculations, and the various second quantized density operators are built on the basis of natural AOs. Conditional electronic events specifying SE or DE mechanisms are defined, and the corresponding probabilities are compared for meta and para topologies. The main trends are rationalized by comparing the effects provoked in phenyl ring when the negative charge is transferred from one substituent or the other. In para topology the effects are additive for the most important resonance structures, while in meta (characterized from `quantum interferencesʹ) the same effects are antagonist in all structures and for both SE and DE mechanisms.