Definition of the Tetrel Bond

TL;DR

This paper establishes a comprehensive definition of the tetrel bond, detailing its characteristics, donors, and acceptors based on literature and first principles calculations, aiding in its identification and classification.

Contribution

It provides the first formal, literature-based definition of the tetrel bond, including its features, donors, and acceptors, for the first time.

Findings

Identifies key features of tetrel bonds in crystalline and gas phases.

Lists common donors and acceptors involved in tetrel bonds.

Provides criteria for recognizing and classifying tetrel bonds.

Abstract

This paper proposes a definition of the term "tetrel bond" based on the evidence documented in the current literature. It lists the donors, acceptors, as well as related characteristic features of tetrel bonds that are commonly observed in the crystalline phase and/or that emerge from first principles calculations in the solid-state and gas phases. These may be used to identify, char-acterize and classify the unique subset of inter- and intramolecular interactions formed by the elements of Group 14 of the Periodic Table that possess an electrophilic site in a molecular entity.