Saturated hydrocarbon-benzene complexes: theoretical study of cooperative CH/pi interactions

High-level ab initio calculations at the CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVTZ//MP2/aug(d,p)-6-311G(d,p) level were employed to investigate the cooperative CH/pi effects between the pi face of benzene and several modeled saturated hydrocarbons, propane, isobutane, cyclopropane, cyclobutane, cyclopentane, cyclohexane, cyclopentane, cyclooctane, and bicyclo[2.2.2]octane. In all cases, multiple C-H groups (2-4) are found to interact with the pi face of benzene, with one C-H group pointing close to the center of the benzene ring. The geometries of these complexes are governed predominantly by electrostatic interaction between the interacting systems. The calculated interaction energies (10-14 kJ mol(-1)) are 2-3 times larger than that of the prototypical methane-benzene complex. The trends of geometries, interaction energies, binding properties, as well as electron-density topological properties were analyzed. The calculated interaction energies correlate well with the polarizabilities of the hydrocarbons. AIM analysis confirms the hydrogen-bonded nature of the CH/pi interactions. Significant changes in proton chemical shift and stretching frequency (blue shift) are predicted for the ring C-H bond in these complexes.