Revealing the Role of N Heteroatoms in Noncovalent Aromatic Interactions by Ultrafast Intermolecular Coulombic Decay

Despite the widely recognized importance of noncovalent interactions involving aromatic rings in many fields, our understanding of the underlying forces and structural patterns, especially the impact of heteroaromaticity, is still incomplete. Here, we investigate the relaxation processes that follow inner-valence ionization in a range of molecular dimers involving various combinations of benzene, pyridine, and pyrimidine, which initiate an ultrafast intermolecular Coulombic decay process. Multiparticle coincidence momentum spectroscopy, combined with ab initio calculations, enables us to explore the principal orientations of these fundamental dimers and, thus, to elucidate the influence of N heteroatoms on the relative preference of the aromatic π-stacking, H-bonding, and CH-π interactions and their dependence on the number of nitrogen atoms in the rings. Our studies reveal a sensitive tool for the structural imaging of molecular complexes and provide a more complete understanding of the effects of N heteroatoms on the noncovalent aromatic interactions at the molecular level.

Structures of (Pyrazine)2 and (Pyrazine)(Benzene) Dimers Investigated with Infrared-Vacuum Ultraviolet Spectroscopy and Quantum-Chemical Calculations: Competition among π-π, CH···π, and CH···N Interactions

The structures of a pyrazine dimer (pyrazine)₂ and (pyrazine)(benzene) hetero-dimer cooled in a supersonic beam were investigated by the measurement of the infrared spectra in the C-H stretching region with infrared-vacuum ultraviolet (IR-VUV) spectroscopy and quantum-chemical calculations. The stabilization energy calculation at the CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVTZ level of theory predicted three isomers for (pyrazine)₂ and three for (pyrazine)(benzene) with energy within 6 kJ/mol. Among them, the cross-displaced π-π stacked structure is the most stable in both dimers. In the observed IR spectra, both dimers exhibited two intense bands near 3065 cm^-1, with intervals of 8 cm^-1 in (pyrazine)₂ and 11 cm^-1 in (pyrazine)(benzene), while only one band appeared in the monomer. For (pyrazine)(benzene), we also measured the IR spectrum of (pyrazine)(benzene-d₆), where the interval of the two bands was unchanged. The analysis of the observed IR spectra with anharmonic calculations suggested the coexistence of three isomers of (pyrazine)₂ and (pyrazine)(benzene) in a supersonic jet. For (pyrazine)₂, the two isomers which were previously assigned to the H-bonded planar and the π-π stacked structures respectively were reassigned to the cross-displaced π-π stacked and T-shaped structures, respectively. In addition, the quantum chemical calculation and IR-VUV spectral measurement suggested the coexistence of the H-bonded planar isomer in the jet. For (pyrazine)(benzene), the IR spectrum of the (pyrazine) site showed a similar spectral pattern to that of (pyrazine)₂, especially the split at ∼3065 cm^-1. However, the anharmonic analysis suggested that they are assigned to the different vibrational motions of (pyrazine). The anharmonic vibrational analysis is essential to associate the observed IR spectra with the correct structures of the dimer.

Tuning the Fermi resonance of pyridine using ethanol molecules

The Fermi resonance (FR) phenomenon is prevalent in infrared and Raman spectroscopy, and it can be observed in a variety of molecules. In particular, pyridine is a compound that has two Fermi doublets: ν₁ ∼ ν₁₂ and ν₁ + ν₆ ∼ ν₈. To analyze the effect of environmental changes on the FR, this study first investigated the Raman spectra of pyridine mixed with ethanol at different concentrations. Results indicated that the FR parameters exhibited a nonlinear dependence on the pyridine concentration fractions, and changing the concentration fraction of pyridine led to different hydrogen bond strengths. Second, the interaction mechanism of pyridine-ethanol binary solutions was analyzed by two-dimensional correlation Raman spectroscopy (2DCRS). In addition, high-pressure Raman spectra of a 50% pyridine-ethanol binary solution were measured up to a pressure of 19.65 GPa by a diamond anvil cell technique, and the phase transition of the binary solution occurred at 6.35 GPa. Finally, the impact of ethanol on the FR of pyridine was determined by deducing the FR parameters at different pressures. The turning point at 6.35 GPa was consistent with the Raman frequency-pressure relationships. The results demonstrated that changes in the intensity of ν₁ did not affect the FR of ν₁ + ν₆ ∼ ν₈, whereas the undisturbed frequency ν₁ still played a role in the FR. When the pressure was compressed to 13.36 GPa, the disappearance of the Raman peaks (ν₁ and ν₁') was attributed to the tuning of the molecular symmetry by pressure during the phase transition.

Π-Stacking in Heterodimers of Propargylbenzene with (Fluoro)phenylacetylenes

The heterodimers of propargylbenzene (PrBz) with phenylacetylene (PHA) and monosubstituted fluorophenylacetylenes (FPHAs) were investigated using electronic and vibrational spectroscopic methods. The vibrational spectra in the acetylenic C-H stretching region show a marginal shift (0-4 cm-1) upon dimer formation, which suggests minimal perturbation of the acetylenic group. The M06-2X/aug-cc-pVDZ calculations indicate that the π-stacked structures are the most stable, followed by other structures. In general, structures incorporating aromatic C-H···π interactions are much higher in energy. The appearance of the spectra and the energy considerations clearly indicate the preference for the π-stacked structures. Furthermore, the observed trend in the stabilization energies for heterodimers with the three FPHAs is inversely proportional to the dipole moments of FPHAs. On the other hand, the absence of any clear trends in the electrostatic component of the interaction energy is attributed to the presence of the methylene group in PrBz.

Dipole moment enhanced π-π stacking in fluorophenylacetylenes is carried over from gas-phase dimers to crystal structures propagated through liquid like clusters

The aggregates of monofluorinated phenylacetylenes in the gas-phase, investigated using the IR-UV double resonance spectroscopic method in combination with extensive structural search and electronic structure calculations, reveal the formation of liquid-like clusters with a π-stacked dimeric core. The structural assignment based on the IR spectra in the acetylenic and aromatic C-H stretching regions suggests that, unlike the parent non-fluorinated phenylacetylene, the substitution of a F atom on the phenyl ring increases the dipole moment, leading to robustness in the formation of a ππ stacked dimer, which propagates incorporating C-Hπ_{Ar/Ac} and C-HF interactions involving both acetylenic and aromatic C-H groups. The structural evolution of fluorophenylacetylene aggregates in the gas phase shows marginal effects due to fluorine atom position on the phenyl ring, with substitution in the para-position tending towards phenylacetylene. The present study signifies that the ππ stacked dimers act as a nucleus for the growth of higher clusters to which other molecular units are added predominantly via the {Ar}_C-Hπ_{Ar} type of interaction and the dominant interactions present in the crystal structures gradually emerge with increasing cluster size. Based on these features, gas-phase clusters of fluorophenylacetylene are hypothesized as "liquid-like clusters" acting as intermediates in the generation of various polymorphic forms starting from a ππ stacked dimer as the core molecular unit.

Impact of N-Substituent and pKa of Azole Rings on Fuel Cell Performance and Phosphoric Acid Loss

The influence of N-substituent and pK_a of azole rings has been investigated for the performance of high-temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (HT-PEMFCs). Imidazole, benzimidazole, and triazole groups were functionalized on the side chains of poly(phenylene oxide), respectively. Each azole group is categorized by their N-substituent into two types: unsubstituted and methyl-substituted azoles. The membranes with methyl-substituted azoles showed higher phosphoric acid (PA) doping levels with an average increase of 20% compared to those with unsubstituted azoles in the full-doped states. However, unsubstituted azoles more effectively improved the proton conductivity and the membrane with unsubstituted imidazole (IMPPO-H) showed a high anhydrous proton conductivity of 153 mS/cm at 150 °C. In contrast, the membranes with methyl-substituted azoles showed a higher PA retention with an average increase of 81% compared to those with unsubstituted azoles. The higher PA retention of methyl-substituted azoles also led to the higher fuel cell performance with the maximum increase of 95% in the power density. It was also revealed that higher pK_a of azoles enhanced the PA retention and the fuel cell performance. Based on the experimental results of PA retention and density functional theory calculations, the PA loss mechanism was also proposed.

Dipole Moment Propels π-Stacking of Heterodimers of Fluorophenylacetylenes

Electronic and vibrational spectroscopic investigations in combination with quantum chemical calculations were carried out to probe the formation of four sets of heterodimers of phenylacetylene with 2-fluorohenylacetylene, 3-fluorophenylacetylene, 4-fluorophenylacetylene, and 2,6-difluorophenylacetylene. The interaction of phenylacetylene with fluorophenylacetylenes leads to marginal (2-9 cm^-1) red-shifts in the acetylenic C-H stretching frequencies of fluorophenylacetylenes, which suggests that constituent monomers are minimally perturbed in the heterodimer. On the other hand, the density-functional-theory-based calculations indicate that π-stacked structures outweigh other structures incorporating C-H···π and C-H···F interactions by about 8 kJ mol^-1 or more. The IR spectra in the acetylenic C-H stretching region were interpreted based on the perturbed dipole model, which suggests formation of predominantly antiparallel π-stacked structures, propelled by dipole moment. However, the energy decomposition analysis suggests that among stabilizing components dispersion dominates, while electrostatics plays a pivotal role in the formation of the π-stacked structures. Interestingly, the ability of 2-fluorophenylacetylene and 2,6-difluorophenylacetylene to π-stack differs significantly, even though both of them have almost identical dipole moments and the dipole moment propels the formation of π-stack structures. These results suggest π-stacking transcends the classical electrostatic description in terms of dipole moment.

Energy, orbital and structural stacking landscape of a purine homodimer system

The multidimensional study, combining the extensive calculations of potential energy surfaces for the parallel-displaced configurations and methods such as energy decomposition and natural bond orbital analysis, has been carried out. The resulted data give an energy, orbital and structural landscapes of this biologically essential system. The balance of the two energy sources, electrostatic and dispersion, is clearly visible. The obtained results, taken as a whole, provide an insight into the hierarchy of intermolecular interactions in the purine system, together with their sources.

Hydrogen bonds vs. π-stacking interactions in the p-aminophenolp-cresol dimer: an experimental and theoretical study

The gas phase structure and excited state lifetime of the p-aminophenolp-cresol heterodimer have been investigated by REMPI and LIF spectroscopy with nanosecond laser pulses and pump-probe experiments with picosecond laser pulses as a model system to study the competition between π-π and H-bonding interactions in aromatic dimers. The excitation is a broad and unstructured band. The excited state of the heterodimer is long lived (2.5 ± 0.5) ns with a very broad fluorescence spectrum red-shifted by 4000 cm^-1 with respect to the excitation spectrum. Calculations at the MP2/RI-CC2 and DFT-ωB97X-D levels indicate that hydrogen-bonded (HB) and π-stacked isomers are almost isoenergetic in the ground state while in the excited state only the π-stacked isomer exists. This suggests that the HB isomer cannot be excited due to negligible Franck-Condon factors and therefore the excitation spectrum is associated with the π-stacked isomer that reaches vibrationally excited states in the S₁ state upon vertical excitation. The excited state structure is an exciplex responsible for the fluorescence of the complex. Finally, a comparison was performed between the π-stacked structure observed for the p-aminophenolp-cresol heterodimer and the HB structure reported for the (p-cresol)₂ homodimer indicating that the differences are due to different optical properties (oscillator strengths and Franck-Condon factors) of the isomers of both dimers and not to the interactions involved in the ground state.

Discovering the stacking landscape of a pyridine-pyridine system

Extremely extensive calculations of potential energy surfaces for the parallel-displaced configuration of pyridine dimer systems have been carried out using a dispersion-corrected density functional. Instead of focusing on stationary geometries these calculations provide much deeper insight into the "landscape" of the interaction energies of the particular systems-one can learn how the pyridine dimer stability changes along with various geometrical parameters. Other calculations such as natural bond orbital and energy decomposition have also been applied. The interplay of two significant factors, electrostatic forces and electron correlation effects, have been evaluated. The role of π···π interactions in the stacked pyridine systems has also been confirmed, and surprisingly, this happened to be true even for the geometries where the formation of C-H···π interactions might be proposed instead. The combination of many different methods has revealed the complexity of the stacking interactions. Apart from providing a "literal new look" into pyridine interaction patterns another picture has emerged. A stacking interaction in a pyridine dimer system is perceived as a combination of many different sources of the interaction energy, including orbital ones, and this is true for many different geometries.

Supramolecular structural transformation of N,N′-bis(4-pyridylmethyl)-naphthalene diimide and fluorescence water sensing

The supramolecular organic structure exhibits reversible dehydration/rehydration in a single-crystal-to-single-crystal process, selective adsorption of CO₂ over N₂ as well as H₂ and sorption selectivity for water and fluorescence sensing of water.

Enhancing the Reduction Potential of Quinones via Complex Formation

Quantum calculations are used to study the manner in which quinones interact with proton-donating molecules. For neutral donors, a stacked geometry is favored over a H-bond structure. The former is stabilized by charge transfers from the N or O lone pairs to the quinone's π* orbitals. Following the addition of an electron to the quinone, the radical anion forms strong H-bonded complexes with the various donors. The presence of the donor enhances the electron affinity of the quinone. This enhancement is on the order of 15 kcal/mol for neutral donors, but up to as much as 85 kcal/mol for a cationic donor. The increase in electron affinity is larger for electron-rich quinones than for their electron-deficient counterparts, containing halogen substituents. Similar trends are in evidence when the systems are immersed in aqueous solvent.

A computational study of the interaction between dopamine and DNA/RNA nucleosides

The interaction between protonated dopamine and neutral RNA and DNA nucleosides was studied by means of density functional theory calculations in vacuum and in implicit water. On the most stable complexes formed with each of the nucleosides, the vertical absorption excitation energies were evaluated and compared with the values of separated dopamine and corresponding nucleoside. The most stable complex was formed with guanosine and the spectral changes in this complex resulted in a significant reduction of the oscillator strength of the first dopamine's transition. In the first guanosine's transition, a redshift of 0.2 eV was found combined with a reduction of the oscillator strength.

The propargylbenzene dimer: C–H⋯π assisted π–π stacking

The infrared spectrum of a size-selected propargylbenzene dimer suggests the formation of a π-stacked dimer.

N-[2-(Pyridin-2-yl)ethyl]-derivatives of methane-, benzene- and toluenesulfonamide: prospective ligands for metal coordination

The molecular and supramolecular structures are reported of N-[2-(pyridin-2-yl)ethyl]methanesulfonamide, C8H12N2O2S, (I), N-[2-(pyridin-2-yl)ethyl]benzenesulfonamide, C13H14N2O2S, (II), and N-[2-(pyridin-2-yl)ethyl]toluenesulfonamide, C14H16N2O2S, (III). Although (II) and (III) are almost structurally identical, the N(amide)-C(ethyl)-C(ethyl)-C(pyridinyl) torsion angles for (I) and (II) are more closely comparable, with magnitudes of 175.37 (15)° for (I) and 169.04 (19)° for (II). This angle decreases dramatically with an additional methyl group in the para position of the sulfonamide substituent, resulting in a value of 62.9 (2)° for (III). In each of the three compounds there is an N-H...N hydrogen bond between the sulfonamide of one molecule and the pyridine N atom of a neighbor. Compound (I) forms hydrogen-bonded dimers, (II) uses its hydrogen bonding to connect supramolecular layers, and the hydrogen bonding of (III) connects linear chains to form layers. For arene-substituted (II) and (III), the different conformations afforded by the variable dihedral angles promote intermolecular π-π stacking in the benzene-substituted structure (II), but distorted intramolecular T-shaped π-stacking in the toluene-substituted structure (III), with a centroid-to-centroid distance of 4.9296 (10) Å.

Effect of acceptor heteroatoms on π-hydrogen bonding interactions: a study of indole···thiophene heterodimer in a supersonic jet

Resonant two photon ionization (R2PI), IR-UV, and UV-UV double resonance spectroscopic techniques combined with quantum chemistry calculations have been used to determine the structure of indole···thiophene dimer observed in a supersonic jet. With the help of combined experimental and theoretical IR spectra it has been found that the observed dimer has a N-H···π hydrogen bonded slanted T-shaped structure. The present study demonstrates the effect of heteroatoms present in the acceptors on the strength of the π-hydrogen bonding interactions. It was concluded by Sherrill and co-workers from their theoretical study of benzene···pyridine dimer that aromatic rings containing heteroatoms are poorest π-hydrogen bond acceptors [E. G. Hohenstein and C. D. Sherrill, J. Phys. Chem. A 113, 878 (2009)]. But the current spectroscopic investigation exhibits that five membered aromatic heterocycles are favorable π-hydrogen bond acceptors. In this study, it has also been shown that thiophene is a better π-hydrogen bond acceptor than furan. The present work has immense biological significance as indole is the chromophore of tryptophan residue in the proteins and thiophene derivatives have potential therapeutic applications. Thus, understanding the binding motif between indole and thiophene in the heterodimer studied in this work may help in designing efficient drugs.