Nature of anion-templated π(+)-π(+) interactions.

Interaction between positively charged aromatic groups (π(+)-π(+)) is characterized by anti-parallel, displaced-stacked structures in the presence of counteranions. Binding energies of pyridinium, N-methylpyridinium and N-methylimidazolium dimers are much larger than that of benzene-pyridine (π-π) and pyridinium-benzene (π(+)-π). Stabilization is attributed to attractive electrostatic interaction with significant dispersion contribution. This journal is © the Owner Societies 2011