Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)It was shown that core-electron binding energy (CEBE) is a very convenient quantity to monitor substituent effect at each carbon atom in a substituted n-hexane (1-X-hexane), a chain sigma-system, and a substituted n-hexatriene (1-X-hexatriene), a chain pi-system. The core-electron binding energy was calculated using the density-functional theory with a scheme: Delta E(KS)(PW86-PW91)/TZP + C(ret)//HF/6-31G* The calculated CEBE(i) of ith orbital is equal to the sum of the ionization energy (-epsilon(i)) due to the Koopmans' theorem and relaxation energy (R). The variation of the ionization energy (-epsilon(i)) parallels closely to that of CEBE(i). The relaxation energy curve does not follow the CEBE curve. The behavior of CEBE in a molecule M depends almost exclusively upon the electronic structure of its neutral parent molecule M, and not upon its core-ionized cation M(+). The substituent effect in the sigma-system is considered as inductive effect. The substituent effect in the pi-system consists of inductive and resonant/pi-electron effects. Assuming that the inductive effect of the pi-system, 1-X-hexatriene, can be approximated by that of the sigma-systems, 1-X-hexane, resonant effect of the pi-system was estimated. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.91641699119124Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)CNPq [304751/2006-5, 302440/2005-4]CNPq [553292/2005-6]