Reply to the ‘Comment on “Decoding real space bonding descriptors in valence bond language”’ by S. Shaik, P. Hiberty and D. Danovich, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2019, 21, DOI: 10.1039/C8CP07225F

Abstract

A recent comment by Hiberty, Danovich and Shaik to our previous communication on interpreting valence bond (VB) concepts in real space raises concerns about the map between quantum chemical topology (QCT) concepts and those of other conceptual frameworks, such as VB theory. We clarify here why some of these discrepancies appear, particularly as resonance structures (RSs) are regarded. As originally shown in our communication, we do not redefine VB structures, but we compare them with their real space equivalent instead.