50 Years of Hydrogen Bond Theory

The “hydrogen bond” or “hydrogen bridge” concept has proved to be one of the most useful structural concepts in modern science. The properties of substances containing hydrogen bonds depend on the strength, symmetry, and polarity of these bonds. These characteristics, in turn, are related to the effective electronegativities of the bridgehead atoms, the distance between these atoms, and the degree of coupling with other hydrogen bonds. Symmetrical hydrogen bonds exist in the FHF − and H 5 O ions and in some acidic compounds. Coupled hydrogen bond systems exist, for example, in ice, liquid water, hydroquinone clathrates, starch, cellulose, polypeptides, nucleic acids, KH 2 PO 4 , and silicate hydrates. It is suggested that systems of coupled, nearly symmetrical, hydrogen bonds should be interesting subjects of further research.