The interpretation of compliance constants and their suitability for characterizing hydrogen bonds and other weak interactions

Compliance constants (or their inverses, relaxed force constants) have frequently been proposed as replacements for internal coordinate force constants because of their invariance properties. Recently, Grunenberg and co-workers have proposed using compliance constants as bond strength descriptors, particularly for weak bonds. In this paper, we critically assess this claim and conclude that the use of compliance constants in this regard is inappropriate. Copyright © 2006 American Chemical Society.