Density-difference maps in quantum chemistry

Electron density-difference maps, used to study the changes that occur when a molecule changes its state or when the nuclei of a molecule change their relative positions, are generally useful only if the atomic densities cancel when one molecular density distribution is subtracted from the other. When, as in the case of the nonrigid internal rotation in ethane, such a cancellation of atomic densities is not possible the method of simple subtraction is no longer appropriate. It is shown that useful density-difference maps can nevertheless be obtained, when the changes in geometric parameters are small, by the calculation of two generalized density-difference functions: a point difference function which allows a comparison of the densities at corresponding points in the two systems, and a volume difference function to compare the amounts of charge in corresponding regions. The method is illustrated by consideration of a change in bond length of the nitrogen molecule and by the nonrigid internal rotation in ethane.