Abstract
Chemistry is the science of bond making and bond breaking which requires redistribution of electron density among the reactant partners. Accordingly acid–base and redox reactions form cardinal components in all branches of chemistry, e.g., inorganic, organic, physical or biochemistry. That is the reason it forms an integral part of the undergraduate curriculum all throughout the globe. In an electronegativity (χ)- hardness (η) landscape diagram the diagonal χ = η line separates reducing agents from oxidizing agents as well as Lewis acids from Lewis bases. While electronegativity is related to the degree of electron transfer between two reactants, hardness is related to the resistance to that process. Accordingly the electronegativities of oxidizing agents/Lewis acids are generally greater than the corresponding hardness values and the reverse is true for reducing agents/Lewis bases. Electrophiles and nucleophiles are also expected to follow similar trends.
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Acknowledgments
We are delighted to dedicate this paper to Professor Robert G. Parr, a first rate scientist and a great human being, on his ninety-second birthday. We thank the University Grants Commission (UGC), New Delhi for financial assistance. PKC thanks the Department of Science & Technology (DST), New Delhi for the Sir J. C. Bose National Fellowship. We would like to thank Professors A. Basak, and D. Mal and Mr. Sukanta Mondal for their help.
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Das, R., Vigneresse, JL. & Chattaraj, P.K. Redox and Lewis acid–base activities through an electronegativity-hardness landscape diagram. J Mol Model 19, 4857–4864 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00894-013-1986-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00894-013-1986-6