Understanding local electrophilicity/nucleophilicity activation through a single reactivity difference index.

A local reactivity difference index R(k) is shown to be able to predict the local electrophilic and/or nucleophilic activation within an organic molecule. Together with the electrophilic and/or nucleophilic behavior of the center k given by the sign, the magnitude of the R(k) index accounts for the extent of the electronic activation, a behavior that allows for the use of the R(k) index as a measure of the molecular reactivity especially in polar processes.