Water-Assisted Proton Transfer in the Sequential Hydration of Benzonitrile Radical Cation C6H5CN•+(H2O)n: Transition to Hydrated Distonic Cation •C6H4CNH+(H2O)n with n ≥ 4.

The stepwise hydration of the benzonitrile•+ radical cation with one-seven H2O molecules was investigated experimentally and computationally with density functional theory in C6H5CN•+(H2O)n clusters. The stepwise binding energies (ΔHn-1,n°) were determined by equilibrium measurements for C6H5CN•+(H2O) and for •C6H4CNH+(H2O)n with n = 5, 6, and 7 to be 8.8 and 11.3, 11.0, and 10.0 kcal/mol, respectively. The populations of n = 2 and 3 of the C6H5CN•+(H2O)n clusters were observed only in trace abundance due to fast depletion processes leading to the formation of the hydrated distonic cations •C6H4CNH+(H2O)n with n = 4-7. The observed transition occurs between conventional radical cations hydrated on the ring in C6H5CN•+(H2O)n clusters with n = 1-3 and the protonated radical •C6H4CNH+ (distonic ion) formed by a proton transfer to the CN nitrogen and ionic hydrogen bonding to water molecules in •C6H4CNH+(H2O)n clusters with n = 4-7. The measured binding energy of the hydrated ion C6H5CN•+(H2O) (8.8 kcal/mol) is similar to that of the hydrated benzene radical cation (8.5 kcal/mol) that involves a relatively weak CHδ+···O hydrogen bonding interaction. Also, the measured binding energies of the •C6H4CNH+(H2O)n clusters with n = 5-7 are similar to those of the protonated benzonitrile (methanol)n clusters [C6H5CNH+(CH3OH)n, n = 5-7] that involve CNH+···O ionic hydrogen bonds. The proton shift from the para-•C ring carbon to the nitrogen of the benzonitrile radical cation is endothermic without solvent but thermoneutral for n = 1 and exothermic for n = 2-4 in C6H5CN•+(H2O)n clusters to form the distonic •C6H4CN···H+(OH2)n clusters. The distonic clusters •C6H4CN···H+(OH2)n constitute a new class of structures in radical ion/solvent clusters.

Observation of covalent and electrostatic bonds in nitrogen-containing polycyclic ions formed by gas phase reactions of the benzene radical cation with pyrimidine.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polycyclic aromatic nitrogen heterocyclics (PANHs) are present in ionizing environments, including interstellar clouds and solar nebulae, where their ions can interact with neutral PAH and PANH molecules leading to the formation of a variety of complex organics including large N-containing ions. Herein, we report on the formation of a covalently-bonded (benzene·pyrimidine) radical cation dimer by the gas phase reaction of pyrimidine with the benzene radical cation at room temperature using the mass-selected ion mobility technique. No ligand exchange reactions with benzene and pyrimidine are observed indicating that the binding energy of the (benzene·pyrimidine)˙+ adduct is significantly higher than both the benzene dimer cation and the proton-bound pyrimidine dimer. The (benzene·pyrimidine)˙+ adduct shows thermal stability up to 541 K. Thermal dissociation of the (C6D6·C4H4N2)˙+ adduct at temperatures higher than 500 K produces C4H4N2D+ (m/z 82) suggesting the transfer of a D atom from the C6D6 moiety to the C4H4N2 moiety before the dissociation of the adduct. Mass-selected ion mobility of the (benzene·pyrimidine)˙+ dimer reveals the presence of two families of isomers formed by electron impact ionization of the neutral (benzene·pyrimidine) dimer. The slower mobility peak corresponds to a non-covalent family of isomers with larger collision cross sections (76.0 ± 1.8 Å2) and the faster peak is consistent with a family of covalent isomers with more compact structures and smaller collision cross sections (67.7 ± 2.2 Å2). The mobility measurements at 509 K show only one peak corresponding to the family of stable covalently bonded isomers characterized by smaller collision cross sections (66.9 ± 1.9 Å2 at 509 K). DFT calculations at the M06-2X/6-311++G** level show that the most stable (benzene·pyrimidine)˙+ isomer forms a covalent C-N bond with a binding energy of 49.7 kcal mol-1 and a calculated collision cross section of 69.2 Å2, in excellent agreement with the value obtained from the faster mobility peak of the (benzene·pyrimidine)˙+ dimer. Formation of a C-N covalent bond displaces a hydrogen atom from a C-H bond of the benzene cation which is transferred to the second pyrimidine nitrogen atom, thus preserving the pyrimidine π system and yielding the most stable (benzene·pyrimidine)˙+ isomer. The calculations also show less stable non-covalent electrostatically bonded perpendicular isomers of the (benzene·pyrimidine)˙+ dimer with a binding energy of 19 kcal mol-1 and a calculated collision cross section of 74.0-75.0 Å2 in excellent agreement with the value obtained from the slower mobility peak of the (benzene·pyrimidine)˙+ dimer.

Organic ion association in aqueous phase and ab initio-based force fields: The case of carboxylate/ammonium salts.

We performed molecular dynamics simulations of carboxylate/methylated ammonium ion pairs solvated in bulk water and of carboxylate/methylated ammonium salt solutions at ambient conditions using an ab initio-based polarizable force field whose parameters are assigned to reproduce only high end quantum computations, at the Møller-Plesset second-order perturbation theory/complete basis set limit level, regarding single ions and ion pairs as isolated and micro-hydrated in gas phase. Our results agree with the available experimental results regarding carboxylate/ammonium salt solutions. For instance, our force field approach predicts the percentage of acetate associated with ammonium ions in CH3COO-/CH3NH3+ solutions at the 0.2-0.8M concentration scale to range from 14% to 35%, in line with the estimates computed from the experimental ion association constant in liquid water. Moreover our simulations predict the number of water molecules released from the ion first hydration shell to the bulk upon ion association to be about 2.0 ± 0.6 molecules for acetate/protonated amine ion pairs, 3.1 ± 1.5 molecules for the HCOO-/NH4+ pair and 3.3 ± 1.2 molecules for the CH3COO-/(CH3)4N+ pair. For protonated amine-based ion pairs, these values are in line with experiment for alkali/halide pairs solvated in bulk water. All these results demonstrate the promising feature of ab initio-based force fields, i.e., their capacity in accurately modeling chemical systems that cannot be readily investigated using available experimental techniques.

Protonated polycyclic aromatic nitrogen heterocyclics: proton affinities, polarizabilities, and atomic and ring charges of 1-5-ring ions.

Calculated proton affinities, polarizabilities, and some ionization energies and atomic and ring NBO charges are reported for 31 polycyclic aromatic nitrogen heterocyclics (PANHs) with 1-5 rings, calculated on the on the M06-2X/6-311+g**//B3LYP/6-31g* level of theory. The calculated proton affinities from 226 to 241 kcal mol(-1) for 3-5-ring compounds, predict well the relative experimental values. The proton affinities increase with increasing molecular size and show a linear correlation with polarizabilities. Linear geometry and nitrogen located in the central ring also favor increased proton affinity. These trends estimate a PA > 241 kcal mol(-1) for an infinite linear chain, end-ring-N PANH molecule, and >261 kcal mol(-1) for an edge-N-doped graphene sheet, making it a superbase. NBO analysis shows that from pyridineH(+) to large 5-ring ions, the N-H nitrogen carries a constant q(N) = -0.46 ± 0.1 charge, and the N-H hydrogen a constant q(H) = 0.43 ± 0.01 positive charge, similar to the q(H) in NH4(+). Overall, the NH group is nearly electrically neutral, and a nearly full positive charge is distributed on the aromatic hydrocarbon rings of the ions. When the nitrogen is in a central ring, that ring is negative, and the positive ionic charge is delocalized toward the end rings. When the nitrogen is in an end ring, the ionic charge is distributed more evenly. Increasing proton affinities with increasing polarizability result not from increasing charge transfer from the proton to the aromatic rings, but from increasing delocalization of the transferred charge in the aromatic hydrocarbon rings of the ions. In two-nitrogen compounds, interactions between the ring nitrogens decrease the proton affinities, but this effect decreases in larger ions.

Protonation energies of 1-5-ring polycyclic aromatic nitrogen heterocyclics: comparing experiment and theory.

Polycyclic nitrogen heterocyclic compounds (PANHs) can be protonated in the gas phase in mass spectrometry, in solution in acidic and biological environments, and if present, in interstellar clouds. Intrinsic molecular effects on PANH basicities can be observed by their gas phase protonation thermochemistry. We determined the gas phase basicities/proton affinities (GBs/PAs) of prototype one-nitrogen, 3-5-ring PANH compounds of increasing sizes and polarizabilities by kinetic bracketing, using proton transfer reactions to reference bases. The experimental proton affinities increase from 1-ring (pyridine, 222.2); to 2-ring (quinoline, 227.8); to 3-5-ring compounds, 227-234 kcal mol(-1). We also calculated the GB/PA values at the M06-2X/6-311+G**//B3LYP/6-31g* level. The computed PAs agree, within the experimental uncertainty, with the experimental values anchored to the upper range of the NIST GB/PA database. Specifically, the computed PAs are smaller than the experimental values by 1.4 ± 0.9 kcal/mol for nonaromatic nitrogen reference bases and for 1-5-ring PANHs, independently of the number of rings, aromaticity, and molecular size. Therefore, a useful method to calculate proton affinities of PANH compounds can use M06-2X/6-311+G**//B3LYP/6-31g* computational PAs + 1.4 ± 0.9 kcal mol(-1). The agreement with experiment supports the NIST database within this accuracy, in the upper range up to 235 kcal mol(-1), even though there are no direct absolute experimental anchor points in this range. For astrochemical applications, the measured PAs allow calculating the energies of the (PANH)(+•) + H2 → (PANH)H(+) + H(•) reactions that may convert the radical ions to less reactive 11-electron ions. The reactions are endothermic or nearly thermoneutral for the 3-5-ring ions and would be very slow at low temperatures, allowing reactive (PANH)(+•) radical ions to persist in interstellar clouds.

Proton-bound dimers of nitrogen heterocyclic molecules: substituent effects on the structures and binding energies of homodimers of diazine, triazine, and fluoropyridine.

The bonding energies of proton-bound homodimers BH(+)B were measured by ion mobility equilibrium studies and calculated at the DFT B3LYP/6-311++G** level, for a series of nitrogen heterocyclic molecules (B) with electron-withdrawing in-ring N and on-ring F substituents. The binding energies (ΔH°(dissoc)) of the proton-bound dimers (BH(+)B) vary significantly, from 29.7 to 18.1 kcal/mol, decreasing linearly with decreasing the proton affinity of the monomer (B). This trend differs significantly from the constant binding energies of most homodimers of other organic nitrogen and oxygen bases. The experimentally measured ΔH°(dissoc) for (1,3-diazine)2H(+), i.e., (pyrimidine)2H(+) and (3-F-pyridine)2H(+) are 22.7 and 23.0 kcal/mol, respectively. The measured ΔH°(dissoc) for the pyrimidine(·+)(3-F-pyridine) radical cation dimer (19.2 kcal/mol) is signifcantly lower than that of the proton-bound homodimers of pyrimidine and 3-F-pyridine, reflecting the stronger interaction in the ionic H-bond of the protonated dimers. The calculated binding energies for (1,2-diazine)2H(+), (pyridine)2H(+), (2-F-pyridine)2H(+), (3-F-pyridine)2H(+), (2,6-di-F-pyridine)2H(+), (4-F-pyridine)2H(+), (1,3-diazine)2H(+), (1,4-diazine)2H(+), (1,3,5-triazine)2H(+), and (pentafluoropyridine)2H(+) are 29.7, 24.9, 24.8, 23.3, 23.2, 23.0, 22.4, 21.9, 19.3, and 18.1 kcal/mol, respectively. The electron-withdrawing substituents form internal dipoles whose electrostatic interactions contribute to both the decreased proton affinities of (B) and the decreased binding energies of the protonated dimers BH(+)B. The bonding energies also vary with rotation about the hydrogen bond, and they decrease in rotamers where the internal dipoles of the components are aligned efficiently for inter-ring repulsion. For compounds substituted at the 3 or 4 (meta or para) positions, the lowest energy rotamers are T-shaped with the planes of the two rings rotated by 90° about the hydrogen bond, while the planar rotamers are weakened by repulsion between the ortho hydrogen atoms of the two rings. Conversely, in ortho-substituted (1,2-diazine)2H(+) and (2-F-pyridine)2H(+), attractive interactions between the ortho (C-H) hydrogen atoms of one ring and the electronegative ortho atoms (N or F) of the other ring are stabilizing, and increase the protonated dimer binding energies by up to 4 kcal/mol. In all of the dimers, rotation about the hydrogen bond can involve a 2-4 kcal/mol barrier due to the relative energies of the rotamers.

Substituent effects on noncovalent bonds: complexes of ionized benzene derivatives with hydrogen cyanide.

Here, we report the first experimental and computational study of the noncovalent binding energies and structures of ionized benzenes containing electron-withdrawing substituents solvated by one to four HCN molecules. Measured by ion mobility mass spectrometric equilibrium studies, the bond dissociation enthalpies of the first HCN molecule to the fluorobenzene (C6H5F(•+)), 1,4-difluorobenzene (C6H4F2(•+)), and benzonitrile (C6H5CN(•+)) ions (11.2, 11.2, and 9.2 kcal/mol, respectively) are similar to those of HCN with the benzene (C6H6(•+)) and phenyacetylene (C6H5CCH(•+)) radical cations (9.2 and 10.5 kcal/mol, respectively). DFT calculations at the B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) level show that HCN can form in-plane hydrogen bonds to ring hydrogens, or bind electrostatically to positively charged carbon centers in the ring. The electron-withdrawing substituents increase the bond energy by increasing the partial positive charge on the ring hydrogens that form CH(δ+)---NCH bonds, and by creating a π hole, as evidenced by positive charge centers on the fluorinated ring carbons for electrostatically bonded isomers. In the complexes of benzonitrile(•+), similar to benzene(•+), hydrogen bonded planar isomers have the lowest energy. In the complexes of (fluorinated benzene)(•+), the lowest energy isomers are electrostatically bonded where HCN is perpendicular to the ring and its dipole points to a positively charged ring carbon. However, in all cases the planar hydrogen-bonded and vertical electrostatic isomers have similar binding energies within 1 kcal/mol, although HCN interacts with different sites of the ionized benzenes in these isomers, suggesting that the observed cluster populations are mixtures of the planar and vertical isomers. Further HCN molecules can bind directly to unoccupied ring CH hydrogens or bind to the first-shell HCN molecules to form linear HCN---HCN--- hydrogen bonded chains. The binding energies decrease stepwise to about 6-7 kcal/mol by 4 HCN molecules, approaching the macroscopic enthalpy of vaporization of liquid HCN (6.0 kcal/mol).

Reactions between aromatic hydrocarbons and heterocycles: covalent and proton-bound dimer cations of benzene/pyridine.

Despite the fact that benzene (Bz) and pyridine (Py) are probably the most common and extensively studied organic molecules, the observation of a covalent adduct in the ionized benzene/pyridine system has never been reported. This Article reports the first experimental and theoretical evidence of a covalent (Bz x Py)(*+) adduct that results from the reaction of Bz(*+) with pyridine or Py(*+) with benzene. These reactions are studied using mass-selected ion mobility, chemical reactivity, collisional dissociation, and ab initio calculations. The (Bz x Py)(*+) adduct does not exchange ligands with Bz to form Bz(2)(*+) or with Py to form (Py)(2)H(+) despite the strong bonds in these homodimers. The thermochemistry then suggests that the (Bz x Py)(*+) heterodimer is bonded covalently with a bonding energy of >33 kcal/mol. Correspondingly, ab initio calculations identify covalently bonded propeller-shaped isomers of (Bz x Py)(*+) with bonding energies of 31-38 kcal/mol, containing a C-N bond. The mobility of the (Bz x Py)(*+) adduct in helium is consistent with these covalent dimers. As to noncovalent adducts, the computations identify novel distonic hydrogen-bonded complexes (C(5)H(5)NH(+) x C(6)H(5)(*)) where the charge resides on one component (PyH(+)), while the radical site resides on the other component (C(6)H(5)(*)). Collisional dissociation suggests that the covalent and distonic dimers may interconvert at high energies. The most stable distonic (C(5)H(5)NH(+) x C(6)H(5)(*)) complex contains a hydrogen bond to the phenyl radical carbon site with a calculated dissociation energy of 16.6 kcal/mol. This bond is somewhat stronger than the NH(+) x pi hydrogen bonds of PyH(+) to the pi system of the phenyl radical and of the benzene molecule. For this NH(+) x pi bond in the PyH(+) x Bz dimer, the measured binding energy is 13.4 kcal/mol, and ab initio calculations identify two T-shaped isomers with the NH(+) pointing to the center of the benzene ring or to the negatively charged C atoms of the ring. In contrast, the more stable proton-bound PyH(+) x Py dimer contains a linear NH(+)...N hydrogen bond. The formation of the (benzene/pyridine)(*+) adduct may represent a general class of addition reactions that can form complex heterocyclic species in ionizing environments.

Ionic hydrogen-bond networks and ion solvation. 1. An efficient Monte Carlo/quantum mechanical method for structural search and energy computations: ammonium/water.

Hydrogen-bond networks about solvated ions can form many alternative structures, requiring extensive conformational searches with accurate but affordable energy computation. For this purpose we are combining Monte Carlo searches with a computationally efficient density-functional-based tight-binding (DFTB+) method. The approach is tested for the stepwise hydration energies of the ammonium ion in NH(4)(+)(H(2)O)(n) clusters (n = 1-8), for which experimental data are available. For each cluster size n, we perform Monte Carlo searches, where for each conformation we calculate the minimized energy using the DFTB+ method (and, for comparison, using MM3 or OPLS-AA force field). The Monte Carlo/DFTB+ search identifies the lowest energy structure that can be reoptimized with other quantum mechanical methods (here with HF, B3LYP, B3PW91, MP2, DFT, and CBS-Q, CBS-QB3, and CBS-APNO methods). Calculated geometries and charge densities for the clusters are also presented. The results show that the binding energies calculated by the DFTB+ method reproduce the values measured experimentally and predicted by highly correlated, but significantly more computationally intensive, ab initio quantum chemical methods. The encouraging results suggest that the Monte Carlo/DFTB+ approach is a computationally efficient quantum chemical method for relatively large solvated systems, as demonstrated here for cluster ions.

Gas phase reactions between acetylene radical cation and water. energies, structures and formation mechanism of C2H3O+ and C2H4O+* ions.

Reactions of the acetylene radical cation (C2H2(+*)) with H2O were investigated using ion mobility mass spectrometry. The primary products are the C2H3O(+) and C2H4O(+*) ions, produced with an overall rate coefficient k(300 K) = 2(+/-0.6) x 10(-11) cm(3) s(-1) that increases with decreasing temperature. The C2H4O(+*) (adduct) vs C2H3O(+) (H loss) ratio also increases with decreasing temperature, and with increasing third-body pressure. Ab initio calculations on the products showed seven stable C2H3O(+) isomers and eleven stable C2H4O(+*) isomers. In the C2H4O(+*) adduct channel, the reactivity and energetics suggest that the adduct is the H2C=CHOH(+*) (vinyl alcohol) ion. In the C2H3O(+) channel, the H loss occurs exclusively from water. The C2H3O(+) product ion undergoes slow deprotonation by water to form H(+)(H2O)n clusters. The reactivity, combined with energetics, suggests that the protonated ketene CH2COH(+) is the most likely observed C2H3O(+) ion probably with some contribution from the cyclic c-CH2CHO(+) ion.

Solvation of the Guanidinium Ion in Pure Aqueous Environments: A Theoretical Study from an "Ab Initio"-Based Polarizable Force Field.

We report simulation results regarding the hydration process of the guanidinium cation in water droplets and in bulk liquid water, at a low concentration of 0.03 M, performed using a polarizable approach to model both water/water and ion/water interactions. In line with earlier theoretical studies, our simulations show a preferential orientation of guanidinium at water-vacuum interfaces, i.e., a parallel orientation of the guanidinium plane to the aqueous surface. In an apparent contradiction with earlier simulation studies, we show also that guanidinium has a stronger propensity for the cores of aqueous systems than the ammonium cation. However, our bulk simulation conditions correspond to weaker cation concentrations than in earlier studies, by 2 orders of magnitude, and that the same simulations performed using a standard nonpolarizable force field leads to the same conclusion. From droplet data, we extrapolate the guanidinium single hydration enthalpy value to be -82.9 ± 2.2 kcal mol-1. That is about half as large as the sole experimental estimate reported to date, about -144 kcal mol-1. Our result yields a guanidinium absolute bulk hydration free energy at ambiant conditions to be -78.4 ± 2.6 kcal mol-1, a value smaller by 3 kcal mol-1 compared to ammonium. The relatively large magnitude of our guanidinium hydration free energy estimate suggests the Gdm+ protein denaturing properties to result from a competition between the cation hydration effects and the cation/protein interactions, a competition that can be modulated by weak differences in the protein or in the cation chemical environment.

Extrapolating Single Organic Ion Solvation Thermochemistry from Simulated Water Nanodroplets.

We compute the ion/water interaction energies of methylated ammonium cations and alkylated carboxylate anions solvated in large nanodroplets of 10 000 water molecules using 10 ns molecular dynamics simulations and an all-atom polarizable force-field approach. Together with our earlier results concerning the solvation of these organic ions in nanodroplets whose molecular sizes range from 50 to 1000, these new data allow us to discuss the reliability of extrapolating absolute single-ion bulk solvation energies from small ion/water droplets using common power-law functions of cluster size. We show that reliable estimates of these energies can be extrapolated from a small data set comprising the results of three droplets whose sizes are between 100 and 1000 using a basic power-law function of droplet size. This agrees with an earlier conclusion drawn from a model built within the mean spherical framework and paves the road toward a theoretical protocol to systematically compute the solvation energies of complex organic ions.

Simulated Solvation of Organic Ions II: Study of Linear Alkylated Carboxylate Ions in Water Nanodrops and in Liquid Water. Propensity for Air/Water Interface and Convergence to Bulk Solvation Properties.

We investigated the solvation of carboxylate ions from formate to hexanoate, in droplets of 50 to 1000 water molecules and neat water, by computations using standard molecular dynamics and sophisticated polarizable models. The carboxylate ions from methanoate to hexanoate show strong propensity for the air/water interface in small droplets. Only the ions larger than propanoate retain propensity for the interface in larger droplets, where their enthalpic stabilization by ion/water dispersion is reduced there by 3 kcal mol(-1) per CH2 group. This is compensated by entropy effects over +3.3 cal mol(-1) K(-1) per CH2 group. On the surface, the anionic headgroups are strongly oriented toward the aqueous core, while the hydrophobic alkyl chains are repelled into air and lose their structure-making effects. These results reproduce the structure-making effects of alkyl groups in solution, and suggest that the hydrocarbon chains of ionic headgroups and alkyl substituents solvate independently. Extrapolation to bulk solution using standard extrapolation schemes yields absolute carboxylate solvation energies. The results for formate and acetate yield a proton solvation enthalpy of about 270 kcal mol(-1), close to the experiment-based value. The largest carboxylate ions yield a value smaller by about 10 kcal mol(-1), which requires studies in much larger droplets.

What Is the Structure of the Naphthalene-Benzene Heterodimer Radical Cation? Binding Energy, Charge Delocalization, and Unexpected Charge-Transfer Interaction in Stacked Dimer and Trimer Radical Cations.

The binding energy of the naphthalene(+•)(benzene) heterodimer cation has been determined to be 7.9 ± 1 kcal/mol for C10H8(+•)(C6H6) and 8.1 ± 1 kcal/mol for C10H8(+•)(C6D6) by equilibrium thermochemical measurements using the mass-selected drift cell technique. A second benzene molecule binds to the C10H8(+•)(C6D6) dimer with essentially the same energy (8.4 ± 1 kcal/mol), suggesting that the two benzene molecules are stacked on opposite sides of the naphthalene cation in the (C6D6)C10H8(+•)(C6D6) heterotrimer. The lowest-energy isomers of the C10H8(+•)(C6D6) and (C6D6)C10H8(+•)(C6D6) dimer and trimer calculated using the M11/cc-pVTZ method have parallel stacked structures with enthalpies of binding (-ΔH°) of 8.4 and 9.0 kcal/mol, respectively, in excellent agreement with the experimental values. The stacked face-to-face class of isomers is calculated to have substantial charge-transfer stabilization of about 45% of the total interaction energy despite the large difference between the ionization energies of benzene and naphthalene. Similarly, significant delocalization of the positive charge is found among all three fragments of the (C6D6)C10H8(+•)(C6D6) heterotrimer, thus leaving only 46% of the total charge on the central naphthalene moiety. This unexpectedly high charge-transfer component results in activating two benzene molecules in the naphthalene(+•)(benzene)2 heterotrimer cation to associate with a third benzene molecule at 219 K to form a benzene trimer cation and a neutral naphthalene molecule. The global minimum of the C10H8(+•)(C6H6)2 heterotrimer is found to be the one where the naphthalene cation is sandwiched between two benzene molecules. It is remarkable, and rather unusual, that the binding energy of the second benzene molecule is essentially the same as that of the first. This is attributed to the enhanced charge-transfer interaction in the stacked trimer radical cation.

Protonated p-Benzoquinone.

The structure and energetics of protonated p-benzoquinone (pBQ) have been investigated using high-pressure mass spectrometry and ab initio calculations. The experimental proton affinity of pBQ is 801.4 +/- 8.9 kJ/mol (191.5 +/- 2.1 kcal/mol) (1sigma) from bracketing measurements and hydration thermochemistry. This value is supported by theory and by analogies with related compounds. In its protonation chemistry, pBQ behaves as an aliphatic ketone, both structurally and energetically. The dissociation of the hydrate (pBQH(+)).(H(2)O) is characterized by DeltaH degrees (D) = 90.0 +/- 2.3 kJ/mol and DeltaS degrees (D) = 123.4 +/- 4.9 J/mol.K (95% confidence).

Simulated solvation of organic ions: protonated methylamines in water nanodroplets. Convergence toward bulk properties and the absolute proton solvation enthalpy.

We applied an alternative, purely theoretical route to estimate thermodynamical properties of organic ions in bulk solution. The method performs a large ensemble of simulations of ions solvated in water nanodroplets of different sizes, using a polarizable molecular dynamics approach. We consider protonated ammonia and methylamines, and K(+) for comparison, solvated in droplets of 50-1000 water molecules. The parameters of the model are assigned from high level quantum computations of small clusters. All the bulk phase results extrapolated from droplet simulations match, and confirm independently, the relative and absolute experiment-based ion solvation energies. Without using experiment-based parameters or assumptions, the results confirm independently the solvation enthalpy of the proton, as -270.3 ± 1.1 kcal mol(-1). The calculated relative solvation enthalpies of these ions are constant from small water clusters, where only the ionic headgroups are solvated, up to bulk solution. This agrees with experimental thermochemistry, that the relative solvation energies of alkylammonium ions by only four H2O molecules reproduce the relative bulk solvation energies, although the small clusters lack major bulk solvation factors. The droplet results also show a slow convergence of ion solvation properties toward their bulk limit, and predict that the stepwise solvation enthalpies of ion/water droplets are very close to those of pure neutral water droplets already after 50 water molecules. Both the ionic and neutral clusters approach the bulk condensation energy very gradually up to 10,000 water molecules, consistent with the macroscopic liquid drop model for pure water droplets. Compared to standard computational methods based on infinite periodic systems, our protocol represents a new purely theoretical approach to investigate the solvation properties of ions. It is applicable to the solvation of organic ions, which are pivotal in environmental, industrial, and biophysical chemistry but have been little investigated theoretically up to the present.

Associative charge transfer reactions. Temperature effects and mechanism of the gas-phase polymerization of propene initiated by a benzene radical cation.

In associative charge transfer (ACT) reactions, a core ion activates ligand molecules by partial charge transfer. The activated ligand polymerizes, and the product oligomer takes up the full charge from the core ion. In the present system, benzene(+*) (Bz(+*)) reacts with two propene (Pr) molecules to form a covalently bonded ion, C(6)H(6)(+*) + 2 C(3)H(6) --> C(6)H(12)(+*) + C(6)H(6). The ACT reaction is activated by a partial charge transfer from Bz(+*) to Pr in the complex, and driven to completion by the formation of a covalent bond in the polymerized product. An alternative channel forms a stable association product (Bz.Pr)(+*), with an ACT/association product ratio of 60:40% that is independent of pressure and temperature. In contrast to the Bz(+*)/propene system, ACT polymerization is not observed in the Bz(+*)/ethylene (Et) system since charge transfer in the Bz(+*)(Et) complex is inefficient to activate the reaction. The roles of charge transfer in these complexes are verified by ab initio calculations. The overall reaction of Bz(+*) with Pr follows second-order kinetics with a rate constant of k (304 K) = 2.1 x 10(-12) cm(3) s(-1) and a negative temperature coefficient of k = aT(-5.9) (or an activation energy of -3 kcal/mol). The kinetic behavior is similar to sterically hindered reactions and suggests a [Bz(+*) (Pr)]* activated complex that proceeds to products through a low-entropy transition state. The temperature dependence shows that ACT reactions can reach a unit collision efficiency below 100 K, suggesting that ACT can initiate polymerization in cold astrochemical environments.

Gas phase hydration and deprotonation of the cyclic C3H3+ cation. Solvation by acetonitrile, and comparison with the benzene radical cation.

The binding energies of the first 5 H2O molecules to c-C3H3+ were determined by equilibrium measurements. The measured binding energies of the hydrated clusters of 9-12 kcal/mol are typical of carbon-based CH+...X hydrogen bonds. The ion solvation with the more polar CH3CN molecules results in stronger bonds consistent with the increased ion-dipole interaction. Ab initio calculations show that the lowest energy isomer of the c-C3H3+(H2O)4 cluster consists of a cyclic water tetramer interacting with the c-C3H3+ ion, which suggests the presence of orientational restraint of the water molecules consistent with the observed large entropy loss. The c-C3H3+ ion is deprotonated by 3 or more H2O molecules, driven energetically by the association of the solvent molecules to form strongly hydrogen bonded (H2O)nH+ clusters. The kinetics of the associative proton transfer (APT) reaction C3H3+ + nH2O --> (H2O)nH+ + C3H2* exhibits an unusually steep negative temperature coefficient of k = cT(-63+/-4) (or activation energy of -37 +/- 1 kcal mol(-1)). The behavior of the C3H3+/water system is exactly analogous to the benzene+*/water system, suggesting that the mechanism, kinetics and large negative temperature coefficients may be general to multibody APT reactions. These reactions can become fast at low temperatures, allowing ionized polycyclic aromatics to initiate ice formation in cold astrochemical environments.

Stepwise hydration of ionized aromatics. Energies, structures of the hydrated benzene cation, and the mechanism of deprotonation reactions.

The stepwise binding energies (DeltaHdegree(n-1,n)) of 1-8 water molecules to benzene(.+) [Bz(.+)(H2O)n] were determined by equilibrium measurements using an ion mobility cell. The stepwise hydration energies, DeltaHdegree(n-1,n), are nearly constant at 8.5 +/- 1 kcal mol-1 from n = 1-6. Calculations show that in the n = 1-4 clusters, the benzene(.+) ion retains over 90% of the charge, and it is extremely solvated, that is, hydrogen bonded to an (H2O)n cluster. The binding energies and entropies are larger in the n = 7 and 8 clusters, suggesting cyclic or cage-like water structures. The concentration of the n = 3 cluster is always small, suggesting that deprotonation depletes this ion, consistent with the thermochemistry since associative deprotonation Bz(.+)(H2O)(n-1) + H2O-->C6H5. + (H2O)nH+ is thermoneutral or exothermic for n > or = 4. Associative intracluster proton transfer Bz(.+)(H2O)(n+1) + H2O-->C6H5.(H2O)nH+ would also be exothermic for n > or = 4, but lack of H/D exchange with D2O shows that the proton remains on C6H6(.+) in the observed Bz(.+)(H2O)n clusters. This suggests a barrier to intracluster proton transfer, and as a result, the [Bz(.+)(H2O)n]* activated complexes either undergo dissociative proton transfer, resulting in deprotonation and generation of (H2O)nH+, or become stabilized. The rate constant for the deprotonation reaction shows a uniquely large negative temperature coefficient of K = cT(-67+/-4) (or activation energy of -34+/- 1 kcal mol-1), caused by a multibody mechanism in which five or more components need to be assembled for the reaction.