Steric Effects. I. Van der Waals Potential Energy Curves

Reliable van der Waals potential energy functions are available in only a limited number of cases. An approximate semi‐empirical method is presented for estimating these curves in other cases, based on an extrapolation from the nature of the curves that are known. The relation of the above method to calculations of the type discussed by Westheimer and Mayer on the activation energy for racemization of substituted symmetrical diphenyls is considered.