Dynamic of solitary water in hydrophobic solvents

OH Stretching and Libration Bands of Solitary Water in Ionic Liquids and Dipolar Solvents Share a Single Dependence on Solvent Polarity

Ionic liquids are an emerging class of materials which are finding application in a variety of technologically important areas. Because of their hydrophilic character, at least a small concentration of water is often present when ionic liquids are used in practical applications. This study employs infrared spectroscopy in the OH stretching and libration regions together with DFT calculations to better characterize the state of dilute water in ionic liquids. Water mole fractions (x_w ∼ 0.1) are chosen such that nearly all water occurs in monomeric form and spectra probe the solvation structure and dynamics of solitary water molecules. New data are reported for a series of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium liquids [Im₂₁][X] with X^- = (C₂F₅)₃F₃P^-, (CF₃SO₂)₂N^-, BF₄^-, B(CN)₄^-, CF₃SO₃^-, C₂H₅SO₄^-, NO₃^-, SCN^-, and CH₃CO₂^-, as well as for the two 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium liquids [Im₆₁][Cl] and [Im₆₁][I]. For comparison, spectra are also recorded in a variety of dipolar solvents, and much of the available literature data are summarized, providing a comprehensive perspective on monomeric water in homogeneous solution. Most prior studies of dilute water in ionic liquids interpreted OH stretching spectra only in terms of water being specifically bonded to two anions in A^-···H-O-H···A^- type solvates. The more detailed analysis presented here indicates the additional presence of asymmetrically solvated water, which in some cases includes both singly solvated (A^-···H-O-H) and more subtle forms of asymmetric solvation. The same pattern of solvation also pertains to dipolar solvents capable of accepting hydrogen bonds from water. No clear distinction is found between OH spectra in high-polarity conventional solvents and ionic liquids. In all solvents, OH frequencies are strongly correlated to measures of solvent basicity or hydrogen bond accepting ability. Far-infrared spectra of the water libration band also show common trends in ionic and dipolar solvents. Despite the different character of the libration and OH modes, the frequencies of these vibrations show virtually the same solvent dependence (apart from sign) except in weakly polar or nonpolar solvents.

Modeling Solvation in Supercritical CO2

In recent decades, a microscopic understanding of solute-solvent intermolecular interactions has been key to advances in technologies based on supercritical carbon dioxide. In many cases, computational work has provided the impetus for new discoveries, shedding new light on important concepts such as the local structure around the solute in the supercritical medium, the influence of the peculiar properties of the latter on the molecular behavior of dissolved substances and, importantly, CO₂ -philicity. In this Review, the theoretical work that has been relevant to these developments is surveyed and, by presenting some crucial open questions, the possible routes to achieving further progress based on the interplay between theory and experiments is discussed.

Infrared and molecular-dynamics studies of the rotational dynamics of water highly diluted in supercritical CO2

Far-infrared (FIR) and mid-infrared (MIR) profiles of D2O infinitely dilute in supercritical CO2 have been studied using molecular-dynamics simulations. For this purpose, we have proposed an intermolecular potential model taking implicitly into account electron donor-acceptor (EDA) interactions between water and CO2 evaluated from ab initio calculations of the intermolecular potential-energy surface (IPS). Interaction-induced dipole mechanisms have been also taken into account in addition to the water permanent dipole to evaluate the simulated FIR profiles of water and CO2 polarizable molecules. They were found to play a minor role in the genesis of the FIR profiles of water/CO2 under supercritical conditions. The analysis of the reorientational dynamics of D2O shows that the rotational dynamics of water is weakly anisotropic due to the EDA interactions which affect more specifically the reorientational motions of the C2 symmetry axis of solute. These results have been used to assess the contribution of the vibrational relaxation in the experimental mid-infrared profiles associated with the nu1 symmetric and nu3 antisymmetric stretching and nu2 bending modes of D2O. It was found that the rotational dynamics mainly contribute to the broadening of the infrared (IR) profiles. Nevertheless, the vibrational processes play a role in the frequency shifts of the band centers and the relative intensity enhancements of the nu1 and nu3 modes of D2O. In particular, the EDA interactions between water and CO2 lead to the appearance of a well-defined IR band of the nu1 mode of D2O. Finally, a comparison with another model taking only into account dipole-quadrupole electrostatic interactions between water and CO2 molecules clearly reveals that EDA interactions have to be considered to reproduce both MIR and FIR measurements. From this point of view CO2 can be classified on a hydrophilic solvent scale based upon the solubility criterion as an intermediate solvent between "inert" xenon and carbon tetrachloride.

Ab Initio Investigation of Vibrational Spectra of Water−(CO2)n Complexes (n = 1, 2)

In this paper, we have calculated using the ab initio method the IR vibrational spectra of complexes of CO2 formed with water (sp3 O-donating atom). Binding energies and structures of the CO2-H2O and water-(CO2)2 complexes have been determined at the second-order level of the Moller-Plesset perturbation theory (MP2) using Dunning's basis sets. The results are presented and critically discussed in terms of the nature of the water-CO2 interactions, electron donor acceptor (EDA) and weak O...H-O interactions. For water-(CO2)2 trimer, it is also shown that the contribution to the interaction energy of the irreducible three-bodies remains relatively negligible. We have analyzed the frequency shifts and the IR and Raman intensity variations under the complex formation. We have particularly emphasized the splitting of the 2 bending mode of CO2 and stretching modes of water, which have been revealed as the most pertinent probes to assess the nature of the forces involved in the different complexes. Finally, because water can play the role of Lewis base and acid as well, we found that weak O...H-O interactions can cooperate with EDA interactions in trimer, leading to very specific spectral signatures that are further discussed.