Three-center bond index

Abstract The bond index for a multi-center bond has been defined from a generalized SCF density matrix. Using this definition, we have calculated the three-center bond indices ( I ABC ) for a number of molecules. It has been observed that I ABC is positive and appreciably high (⩾ 0.1) only for those three-center bonds which can be obtained from localized MO calculations. In other cases, I ABC is either negative or very close to zero.