An ab initio study of beryllium(II) hydration

Structure and size of complete hydration shells of metal ions and inorganic anions in aqueous solution

The structures of nine hydrated metal ions in aqueous solution have been redetermined by large angle X-ray scattering to obtain experimental data of better quality than those reported 40-50 years ago. Accurate M-OI and M-(OI-H)⋯OII distances and M-OI(H)⋯OII bond angles are reported for the hydrated magnesium(II), aluminium(III), manganese(II), iron(II), iron(III), cobalt(II), nickel(II), copper(II) and zinc(II) ions; the subscripts I and II denote oxygen atoms in the first and second hydration sphere, respectively. Reported structures of hydrated metal ions in aqueous solution are summarized and evaluated with emphasis on a possible relationship between M-OI-OII bond angles and bonding character. Metal ions with high charge density have M-OI-OII bond angles close to 120°, indicative of a mainly electrostatic interaction with the oxygen atom in the water molecule in the first hydration shell. Metal ions forming bonds with a significant covalent contribution, as e.g. mercury(II) and tin(II), have M-OI-OII bond angles close to 109.5°. This implies that they bind to one of the free electron pairs in the water molecule. Comparison of M-O bond distances of hydrated metal ions in the solid state with one hydration shell, and in aqueous solution with in most cases at least two hydration shells, shows no significant differences. On the other hand, the X-O bond distance in hydrated oxoanions increases by ca. 0.02 Å in aqueous solution in comparison with the corresponding X-O distance in the solid state. A linear correlation is observed between volume, calculated from the van der Waals radius of the hydrated ion, and the ionic diffusion coefficient in aqueous solution. This correlation strongly indicates that monovalent metal ions, except lithium and silver(I), and singly-charged monovalent oxoanions have a single hydration shell. Divalent metal ions, bismuth(III) and the lanthanoid(III) and actinoid(III) ions have two hydration shells. Trivalent transition and tetravalent metal ions have two full hydration shells and portion of a third one. Doubly charged oxoanions have one well-defined hydration shell and an ill-defined second one.

The dubious origin of beryllium toxicity

Four mechanisms have been proposed in the literature to explain beryllium toxicity; they can be divided in two groups of two mechanisms: (i) replacement type: models 1 and 2; (ii) addition type: models 3 and 4. At this moment is not possible to select the best model not even to establish if one of these models will be the ultimate mechanism of beryllium toxicity. However, it is important to know the still open discussion about something so important associated with one of the simplest elements of the periodic table.

Synthesis, IR spectroscopy and crystal structure of [(UO2)2{Be(H2O)2(PO4)2}]·(H2O), the first compound with a trimer beryllophosphate anion

The first uranyl beryllophosphate, [(UO2)2{Be(H2O)2(PO4)2}]·(H2O), has been synthesized under hydrothermal conditions at 200°C. The monoclinic unit-cell parameters are: a=9.3361(1), b=8.8545(4), c=9.6592(10) Å, β=93.211(1)°, V=797.21(6) Å3, space group P2/n, Z=2. The crystal structure has been solved by direct methods and refined to final R 1=4.92% using 1294 I>3σ(I) reflections in the anisotropic approximation. The structure consists of sheets of UrO5 pentagonal bipyramids and PO4 tetrahedra. UrO5 bipyramids are linked by edge-sharing to form infinite chains. Adjacent chains of UrO5 bipyramids are connected by sharing alternating edges of uranyl bipyramids with PO4 tetrahedra. The resulting sheets are based on the well-known uranophane anion-topology. Be atoms are tetrahedrally coordinated by two oxygen atoms of PO4 tetrahedra and two water molecules in the interlayer space. One isolated water molecule also occurs in the interlayer space, where it is held in position by H bonds. The connection between the phosphorus and beryllium tetrahedra leads to formation of an unbranched trimer [BeP2O8(H2O)2]4− observed for the first time in inorganic oxysalts.

Many-Body Potentials for Aqueous Be2+ Derived from ab Initio Calculations

An effective three-body potential for the aqueous Be²⁺ ion has been constructed from a large number of high-level ab initio cluster calculations. The new potential was validated in subsequent molecular dynamics simulations of both gas phase ion-water clusters and bulk liquid. The structures of the first and second solvation shells were studied using radial distribution functions and angular distribution functions. The vibrational spectrum of Be²⁺ and first shell waters was examined by computing power spectra from the molecular dynamics simulations. The observed bands showed reasonable agreement with experimental spectroscopic frequencies. The potential of mean force for water exchange between the first and second solvation shells was calculated and the energy barrier for exchange was found to have improved agreement with experiment relative to two-body force fields. Examination of the solvation structure near the transition state yielded results consistent with an associative mechanism.