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We explore the local and nonlocal response functions of the grand canonical potential density functional at nonzero temperature. In analogy to the zero-temperature treatment, local (e.g., the average electron density and the local softness) and nonlocal (e.g., the softness kernel) intrinsic response functions are defined as partial derivatives of the grand canonical potential with respect to its thermodynamic variables (i.e., the chemical potential of the electron reservoir and the external potential generated by the atomic nuclei). To define the local and nonlocal response functions of the electron density (e.g., the Fukui function, the linear density response function, and the dual descriptor), we differentiate with respect to the average electron number and the external potential. The well-known mathematical relationships between the intrinsic response functions and the electron-density responses are generalized to nonzero temperature, and we prove that in the zero-temperature limit, our results recover well-known identities from the density functional theory of chemical reactivity. Specific working equations and numerical results are provided for the 3-state ensemble model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Density-functional-theory-based chemical reactivity indicators are formulated for degenerate and near-degenerate ground states. For degenerate states, the functional derivatives of the energy with respect to the external potential do not exist, and must be replaced by the weaker concept of functional variation. The resultant reactivity indicators depend on the specific perturbation. Because it is sometimes impractical to compute reactivity indicators for a specific perturbation, we consider two special cases: point-charge perturbations and Dirac delta function perturbations. The Dirac delta function perturbations provide upper bounds on the chemical reactivity. Reactivity indicators using the common used 'average of degenerate states approximation' for degenerate states provide a lower bound on the chemical reactivity. Unfortunately, this lower bound is often extremely weak. Approximate formulas for the reactivity indicators within the frontier-molecular-orbital approximation and special cases (two or three degenerate spatial orbitals) are presented in the supplementary material. One remarkable feature that arises in the frontier molecular orbital approximation, and presumably also in the exact theory, is that removing electrons sometimes causes the electron density to increase at the location of a negative (attractive) Dirac delta function perturbation. That is, the energetic response to a reduction in the external potential can increase even when the number of electrons decreases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By using perturbations in the molecular external potential, the authors deduce the Fukui function from the change in Kohn-Sham orbital energies, avoiding the troublesome differentiation of the density with respect to electron number. Though this paper focuses on the Fukui function, the same general technique can be used to compute the functional derivative of any observable with respect to the external potential. In this paper, the method is used to compute the Fukui function for the beryllium atom and the formaldehyde molecule. The follow-up paper (part II) addresses the problem of computing condensed reactivity indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two recent papers [P. W. Ayers and R. G. Parr, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 122, 2010 (2000); 123, 2007 (2001)] have shown how variational principles for the energy may be used to derive and elucidate the significance of the chemical reactivity indices of density-functional theory. Here, similar ideas are applied, yielding a systematic, mathematically rigorous, and physically sound approach to condensed reactivity indices. First, we use the variational principle for the energy to derive an expression for the condensed Fukui function index in terms of the condensed hardness kernel. Next, we address an important open problem pertaining to condensed reactivity indices: when (if ever) is the condensed Fukui function for an atom in a molecule negative? In particular, our analysis confirms the observation, hitherto based only on computational evidence, that the Hirshfeld partitioning is optimal for obtaining non-negative Fukui functions. We also hypothesize that the strong diagonal dominance of the condensed hardness kernel is sufficient for the non-negativity of the Fukui function. Errors in the partitioning of molecules into atoms and inadequate treatment of correlation are pinpointed as the most likely causes of negative condensed Fukui functions. We conclude by noting that the condensed Fukui functions are, in some respects, more appropriate indicators of a molecular site’s reactivity than the Fukui function itself. © 2002 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We provide new arguments supporting the validity of the maximum hardness and the minimum electrophilicity principles, considering the overall change of these descriptors in a charge-transfer reaction. We analyze two cases: (a) how the reactivity is affected when we perturb one reagent, keeping the other constant; (b) how the hardness and electrophilicity change when we treat the interaction between the reagents as a perturbation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In analogy to the electrophilicity and the potentialphilicity, we define the chargephilicity and chargephobicity to describe the energetic response of a molecule to a change in its charge distribution. The chargephilicity captures the ‘best’ way to change the underlying charge distribution; the chargephobicity captures the ‘worst’ way to change the underlying charge distribution. The Coulomb potential induced by the linear-response function plays a very important role in this approach, analogous to the role of the hardness for the electrophilicity, the hardness kernel for the Fukui function, and the linear-response function for the potentialphilicity and potentialphobicity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In analogy to the electrophilicity, we define potentialphilicity indicators that represent energetically favorable ways to change the external potential of a molecule at fixed electron number. Similarly, we define a potentialphobicity to represent the least favorable way to change the external potential of a molecule. The resulting indicators should be useful for describing how molecular geometries change and predicting favorable and unfavorable ways for a reagent to approach a molecule. The linear response function enters plays a very important role in this approach, analogous to the role of the hardness for the electrophilicity or the hardness kernel for the Fukui function. The mathematical properties of the response function and its implications for these reactivity indicators are discussed in depth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relationships between third-order reactivity indicators in the closed system [N, v(r)], open system [μ, v(r)], and density [ρ(r)] pictures are derived. Our method of derivation unifies and extends known results. Among the relationships is a link between the third-order response of the energy to changes in the density and the quadratic response of the density to changes in external potential. This provides a link between hyperpolarizability and the system’s sensitivity to changes in electron density. The dual descriptor is a unifying feature of many of the formulas we derive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different procedures to obtain atom condensed Fukui functions are described. It is shown how the resulting values may differ depending on the exact approach to atom condensed Fukui functions. The condensed Fukui function can be computed using either the fragment of molecular response approach or the response of molecular fragment approach. The two approaches are nonequivalent; only the latter approach corresponds in general with a population difference expression. The Mulliken approach does not depend on the approach taken but has some computational drawbacks. The different resulting expressions are tested for a wide set of molecules. In practice one must make seemingly arbitrary choices about how to compute condensed Fukui functions, which suggests questioning the role of these indicators in conceptual density-functional theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Guided by experimentally observed solvolysis rates, 66 different reactivity indicators for predicting the quality of organic leaving groups are tested. None of these indicators is completely satisfactory. Most of the proposed indicators work well when the leaving group is a halogen, but poorly in the other cases (carboxylates, sulphates, phosphinates). This suggests that it is very difficult to devise simple reactivity indicators for the intrinsic quality of a leaving group, and supports recent work on molecule-dependent models for nucleofugality. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]