Chalcogen Noncovalent Interactions between Diazines and Sulfur Oxides in Supramolecular Circular Chains

The noncovalent chalcogen interaction between SO₂/SO₃ and diazines was studied through a dispersion-corrected DFT Kohn–Sham molecular orbital together with quantitative energy decomposition analyses. For this, supramolecular circular chains of up to 12 molecules were built with the aim of checking the capability of diazine molecules to detect SO₂/SO₃ compounds within the atmosphere. Trends in the interaction energies with the increasing number of molecules are mainly determined by the Pauli steric repulsion involved in these σ-hole/π-hole interactions. But more importantly, despite the assumed electrostatic nature of the involved interactions, the covalent component also plays a determinant role in its strength in the involved chalcogen bonds. Noticeably, π-hole interactions are supported by the charge transfer from diazines to SO₂/SO₃ molecules. Interaction energies in these supramolecular complexes are not only determined by the S···N bond lengths but attractive electrostatic and orbital interactions also determine the trends. These results should allow us to establish the fundamental characteristics of chalcogen bonding based on its strength and nature, which is of relevance for the capture of sulfur oxides.