Thermochemistry of Molecules, Molecule-Ions, and Free Radicals. Factors Influencing Bond Energies in these Species

The thermochemist is entrusted with the experimental task of measuring heat changes in chemical processes, and establishing reliable values for the enthalpies of formation of chemical compounds in general. Precision calorimetric procedures have by now provided a wealth of data, particularly for organic compounds, sufficient to allow reliable predications of the enthalpies of formation of compounds for which measurements have not been made. Essentially, these empirical schemes attempt to correlate the total binding energy of a molecule with its molecular structure