Can aromaticity be connected with molecular polarizability? A theoretical study of benzene isomers and five-membered heterocyclic molecules

Abstract

Extended calculations of molecular electric dipole polarizability tensor, at Hartree-Fock and correlated level of accuracy (MP2, CCS, CC2, CCSD, and CCSD(T)) have been carried out to investigate whether aromaticity could be related to the electric dipole polarizability of planar ring systems. The calculations prove the exaltation of the average property of conjugated molecules, which is possibly due to their easily polarizable π-electron cloud. On the other hand, theoretical out-of-plane polarizability components are smaller in benzene than in any other C₆H₆ isomer. The aromatic stabilization energies of monosubstituted five-membered conjugated cyclic molecules increase in the same direction as theoretical out-of-plane polarizabilities.