Molecular electric moments and electric field gradients from X-ray diffraction data: model studies

Model X-ray data sets, with and without the inclusion of experimental thermal motion parameters, have been computed via Fourier transformation of ab initio molecular electron densities for 12 different molecular crystals. These datasets were then analysed with three different multipole models of varying sophistication and, from the multipole functions, molecular dipole and second moments, as well as electric field gradients (EFG's), at each nuclear site were computed and compared with results obtained from the original ab initio wavefunctions. The results provide valuable insight into the reliability of these properties, extracted in the same way from experimental X-ray data. Not all molecular systems display identical trends, but a general pattern is discernible. Specifically, dipole moments are typically underestimated by a small but significant amount (~ 10-15%), the trace of the second moment tensor is well determined but overestimated by a few per cent and electric field gradients at protons are confirmed to be well within reach of a careful charge density analysis of X-ray diffraction data.