Structure of aqueous cesium metaborate solutions by X-ray scattering and DFT calculation

Hydrolysis mechanism of the cyclohexaborate anion: Unraveling the intricacies

B 6 O 7 OH 6 2 - is a highly polymerized borate anion of three six-membered rings. Limited research on theB 6 O 7 OH 6 2 - hydrolysis mechanism under neutral solution conditions exists. Calculations based on density functional theory show thatB 6 O 7 OH 6 2 - undergoes five steps of hydrolysis to form H3BO3 and B OH 4 - . At the same time, there are a small number of borate ions with different degrees of polymerization during the hydrolysis process, such as triborate, tetraborate, and pentaborate anions. The structure of the borate anion and the coordination environment of the bridging oxygen atoms control the hydrolysis process. Finally, this work explains that in existing experimental studies, the reason for the lowB 6 O 7 OH 6 2 - content in solution environments with low total boron concentrations is that it depolymerizes into other types of borate ions and clarifies the borate species. The conversion relationship provides a basis for identifying the possibility of various borate ions existing in the solution. This work also provides a certain degree of theoretical support for the cause of the "dilution to salt" phenomenon.

Raman and ab initio analyses of ion pairs in concentrated K[B(OH)4] droplets

In this study, microscopic Raman spectroscopy and Ab initio quantum chemical calculation were used to determine the structural details of ion pairs and their transformation in concentrated K[B(OH)₄] droplets. The Raman experiment shows that the v_sym-B(OH)₄^- undergoes a downward shift with the decrease of WSR. The contact ion pairs (CIPs) change to solvent shared ion pairs when the molar water-to-solute ratio (WSR) is bigger than 6; CIPs are the dominant species when 1.33 < WSR < 6, where K⁺ bonds to [B(OH)₄^-] in bidentate form (CIP-II); the CIPs quickly dehydrate and associate to triple ion pairs (TIPs) when WSR < 5. Raman experiment and ab initio quantum chemical calculation show that TIPs are mainly present in "anionic" type such as {[B(OH)₄^-]K⁺[B(OH)₄^-](H₂O)_n}, where K⁺ bonds to two [B(OH)₄^-] in bidentate or/and tridentate form (TIP-a-II or/and TIP-a-III). When WSR <1.33, most TIPs convert to complex clusters such as chain-like structure. The remaining TIPs associate to six-membered ring structure [B₃O₃(OH)₄^-] and the relative content increases from 0 to 20% when the WSR ranges from 1.33 to 0.55.

Ion hydration and association in aqueous potassium tetrahydroxyborate solutions

Potassium tetrahydroxyborate solution is a significant material in the borate solution family, but there is limited knowledge about hydration structures and interactions of K⁺, [B(OH)₄^-], and water. In this study, the X-ray diffraction measurements of potassium tetrahydroxyborate solutions have been made. The experimental structure factors are subjected to Empirical Potential Structure Refinement (EPSR) modeling to reveal the details of ion hydration and association in the aqueous solutions. This study shows that the O(W)-O(W) distance of water in the studied solutions ranges from 2.82 to 2.76 Å with a coordination number that ranges from 4.7 ± 1.4 to 3.1 ± 1.3 when the value of the water-salt molar ratio (WSR) is decreased from 30 to 6. The addition of ions slightly affects the tetrahedral structure of water even when the concentration of ions is high. The first hydration distance of K⁺ remained at ∼2.67 Å, whereas the value of the coordination number (CN) decreased from 5.4 ± 1.3 to 3.9 ± 1.5 when the concentration of the borate solution was increased. The hydration ability of K⁺ was weak and almost did not have a fixed local hydration structure. The pair distribution function (PDF) of g_B-O(W)(r) shows that [B(OH)₄^-] has a broad hydration distance from 2.9 to 5.4 Å because of the complex interactive relationship between K⁺, [B(OH)₄^-] and water. There is a competitive hydration between K⁺ and [B(OH)₄^-]. Both the X-ray diffraction and DFT-based calculations confirm that the main species is monodentate contact ion pairs when WSR = 30, bidentate contact ion pairs when WSR = 14, and triple contact ion pairs when WSR = 6. These results will provide a new understanding about potassium tetrahydroxyborate solution.

Micro-Raman and density functional theory analyses of ion pairs in concentrated sodium tetrahydroxyborate droplets

In this study, ion pairs in a single sodium tetrahydroxyborate [Na [B(OH)₄] droplet were analyzed using an "in-situ strategy" in which a sample-droplet of nanogram mass was deposited on a hydrophobic substrate and droplet was forced to enter into a supersaturated state by decreasing the relative humidity (RH) of the environment. The structure of the solvated [B(OH)₄^-] ionic moiety with various molar water-to-solute ratios (WSR) was analyzed using Raman spectroscopy. To confirm the structural changes in the droplet, electronic structure calculations were carried out using density functional theory (DFT). The frequencies calculated for the totally symmetric BO stretching vibration (v_sym(BO)) of the [B(OH)₄^-] moiety were compared with those of the fundamental bands observed in the Raman spectra recorded of the droplets. The following results have been obtained: (i) when WSR is reduced from 9 to 0.1, the frequency of the band that corresponds to v_sym(BO) shifts from 745 to 746 cm^-1, and its full-width at half-maximum value increases from 19.7 to 20.5 cm^-1; (ii) when WSR ≥7, the solvent-shared ion pair (SIP) is predominantly present in the solution, whereas in the case of WSR < 7, SIP transforms into a contact ion pair (CIP) formed by Na⁺ and [B(OH)₄^-] in bidentate coordination; (iii) when WSR = 3, most of the CIPs transform into a cationic type of triple ion pair (TIP) composed of two Na⁺ and one [B(OH)₄^-] in bidentate coordination; (iv) when WSR is further reduced, most TIP continually associate to form a more complex structure and with a small amount of six-membered ring complex also formed. These results will help us understand the ion association mechanism during dehydration process of Na[B(OH)₄] droplets.