A comparison of energetic criteria to probe the stabilizing interaction resulting from a bond path between congested atoms.

Four energetic criteria, all rooted in the partitioning of a molecule into atomic basins based on the properties of the electron density, are compared and correlated with the presence of a bond path between two nonbonded atoms in a series of sterically crowded derivatives of the same tetracyclododecane molecule. It was found that there is no correlation between the selected energetic criteria and the existence of a bond path between the congested atoms, nor with the existence of Ehrenfest force, virial, or Coulomb potential paths between those atoms.