Continuum estimates of rotational dielectric friction and polar solvation

Experimental and Theoretical Rotational Diffusion Studies of 7DM4M1M1,8, N-2(1H)-one and 7A4T2H1B-2-one in Series of Alcohol Solvents: Stoke's-Einstein-Debye and Alavi-Waldeck Models

Rotational diffusion studies of two solutes 7-(dimethylamino)-4-methoxy-1-methyl-1,8-naphthyridin-2(1H)-one (7DM4M1M1,8, N-2(1H)-one) and 7-amino-4-(trifluoromethyl)-2H-1-benzopyran-2-one (7A4T2H1B-2-one) having equal volumes but different chemical natures are studied in series of alcohol solvents at 303 K using steady-state methods. HOMO-LUMO, Electron density, Molecular electrostatic potential (MEP), etc., are obtained from computational calculations using Gaussian 09 software. Rotational reorientation times of 7DM4M1M1,8, N-2(1H)-one solute molecule is found to be less than 7A4T2H1B-2-one solute molecule indicates it rotates slowly in chosen solvents. Stoke's-Einstein-Debye (SED) model with stick boundary conditions for the 7A4T2H1B-2-one solute molecule is modeled to describe mechanical friction. Polar solutes along with mechanical friction also experience dielectric friction. Both these frictions being non-separable, the Alavi-Waldeck (AW) model is studied for dielectric friction contribution to the total friction solute experiences in solvents. AW model effectively explains the observed dielectric friction in alcohol solvents.

An Experimental and Theoretical Test of Dielectric Friction Models Using Rotational Diffusion of 7-Diethylamino-2-H-1-Benzopyran-2-One in Non-associative Solvents

The rotational re-orientations times of the 7-DHB dye molecule have been examined in non-associative solvents (DMSO and Octanenitrile) by varying the temperature, by employing the Steady-State Fluorescence Depolarisation and Time-Correlated Single Photon Counting (TCSPC) techniques. Rotational re-orientations time values in DMSO are found larger by a factor of 1.136 than octanenitrile, which indicates that 7-DHB laser dye is experiencing higher friction in DMSO than octanenitrile. To determine mechanical friction Stokes Einstein's Debye theory (SED) -with a stick, slip boundary conditions parameters are used and found an interesting super slip trend. Point dipole models as Nee-Zwanzig (NZ) and van der Zwan-Hynes (ZH) fail to explain experimental dielectric friction observed trends. Alavi-Waldeck model successfully explains the observed dielectric friction trend in non-associative solvents.

Rotational Diffusion of Medium Sized 7-[Diethylamino]-2H-1-Benzopyran-2-One Molecule in Alcohols: Study of Temperature and Solvent Viscosity Effect

The rotational re-orientations times of the 7-[diethylamino]-2H-1-benzopyran-2-one (7-DHB) dye molecule have been examined in ethanol and octanol solvents when macroscopic solvent viscosity parameter is varied by varying the temperature, by employing the steady-state fluorescence depolarisation and Time-Correlated Single Photon Counting (TCSPC) techniques. Experimental observation shows that 7-DHB probe is experiencing higher friction in octanol compared to ethanol and rotates slower by a factor of 7.3. The hydrodynamic Stokes Einstein's Debye theory (SED) with a stick, slip boundary conditions parameters, quasi-hydrodynamic models (Dote-Kivelson-Schwartz and Geirer-Wirtz) were used to determine mechanical friction and found an interesting towards super slip trend. Dielectric frictional theories of point dipole, Nee-Zwanzig and van der Zwan-Hynes both models fail to describe experimentally observe dielectric friction trends. Evidently, both hydrodynamic and dielectric models failed to explain the examined behavior, even in the qualitative way in alcohols.

Rotational dynamics of polyatomic ions in aqueous solutions: From continuum model to mode-coupling theory, aided by computer simulations

Due to the presence of the rotational mode and the distributed surface charges, the dynamical behavior of polyatomic ions in water differs considerably from those of the monatomic ions. However, their fascinating dynamical properties have drawn scant attention. We carry out theoretical and computational studies of a series of well-known polyatomic ions, namely, sulfate, nitrate, and acetate ions. All three ions exhibit different rotational diffusivity, with that of the nitrate ion being considerably larger than the other two. They all defy the hydrodynamic laws of size dependence. Study of the local structure around the ions provides valuable insight into the origin of these differences. We carry out a detailed study of the rotational diffusion of these ions by extensive computer simulation and by using the theoretical approaches of the dielectric friction developed by Fatuzzo-Mason (FM) and Nee-Zwanzig (NZ), and subsequently generalized by Alavi and Waldeck. A critical element of the FM-NZ theory is the decomposition of the total rotational friction, ζ_Rot, into Stokes and dielectric parts. The study shows a dominant role of dielectric friction in the sense that if the ions are made neutral, the nature of diffusion changes and the values become much larger. Our analyses further reveal that the decomposition of total friction into the Stokes and dielectric friction breaks down for sulfate ions but remains semi-quantitatively valid for nitrate and acetate ions. We discuss the relationship between translational and rotational dielectric friction on rigid spherical ions. We develop a self-consistent mode-coupling theory (SC-MCT) formalism that could provide a unified view of rotational friction of polyatomic ions in polar medium. Our SC-MCT shows that the breakdown can be attributed to the change in the microscopic structural features. The mode-coupling theory helps in elucidating the role of coupling between translational and rotational motion of these ions. In fact, these two motions self-consistently determine the value of each other. The reference interaction site model-based MCT suggests an interesting relation between the torque-torque and the force-force time correlation function with the proportionality constant being determined by the geometry and the charge distribution of the polyatomic molecule. We point out several parallelisms between the theories of translational and rotation friction calculations of ions in polar liquids.

Dynamics of rhenium photocatalysts revealed through ultrafast multidimensional spectroscopy

Rhenium catalysts have shown promise to promote carbon neutrality by reducing a prominent greenhouse gas, CO2, to CO and other starting materials. Much research has focused on identifying intermediates in the photocatalysis mechanism as well as time scales of relevant ultrafast processes. Recent studies have implemented multidimensional spectroscopies to characterize the catalyst's ultrafast dynamics as it undergoes the many steps of its photocycle. Two-dimensional infrared (2D-IR) spectroscopy is a powerful method to obtain molecular structure information while extracting time scales of dynamical processes with ultrafast resolution. Many observables result from 2D-IR experiments including vibrational lifetimes, intramolecular redistribution time scales, and, unique to 2D-IR, spectral diffusion, which is highly sensitive to solute-solvent interactions and motional dynamics. Spectral diffusion, a measure of how long a vibrational mode takes to sample its frequency space due to multiple solvent configurations, has various contributing factors. Properties of the solvent, the solute's structural flexibility, and electronic properties, as well as interactions between the solvent and solute, complicate identifying the origin of the spectral diffusion. With carefully chosen experiments, however, the source of the spectral diffusion can be unveiled. Within the context of a considerable body of previous work, here we discuss the spectral diffusion of several rhenium catalysts at multiple stages in the catalysis. These studies were performed in multiple polar liquids to aid in discovering the contributions of the solvent. We also performed electronic ground state 2D-IR and electronic excited state transient-2D-IR experiments to observe how spectral diffusion changes upon electronic excitation. Our results indicate that with the original Lehn catalyst in THF, relative to the ground state, the spectral diffusion slows by a factor of 3 in the equilibrated triplet metal-to-ligand charge transfer state. We attribute this slowdown to a decrease in dielectric friction as well as an increase in molecular flexibility. It is possible to partially simulate the charge transfer by altering the electron density moderately by adding electron donating or withdrawing substituents symmetrically to the bipyridine ligand. We find that unlike the significant electronic structure change induced by MLCT, such small substituent effects do not influence the spectral diffusion. A solvent study in THF, DMSO, and CH3CN found there to be an explicit solvent dependence that we can correlate to the solvent donicity, which is a measure of its nucleophilicity. Future studies focused on the solvent effects on spectral diffusion in the crucial photoinitiated state can illuminate the role the solvent plays in the catalysis.

Ultrafast solvation dynamics and charge transfer reactions in room temperature ionic liquids

In this perspective, we review the recent studies concerning the liquid structure and solvation dynamics of ionic liquids, and their influence upon electron transfer and charge transfer reactions.

Solvation in protein (un)folding of melittin tetramer-monomer transition

Protein structural integrity and flexibility are intimately tied to solvation. Here, we examine the effect that changes in bulk and local solvent properties have on protein structure and stability. We observe the change in solvation of an unfolding of the protein model, melittin, in the presence of a denaturant, trifluoroethanol. The peptide system displays a well defined transition in that the tetramer unfolds without disrupting the secondary or tertiary structure. In the absence of local structural perturbation, we are able to reveal exclusively the role of solvation dynamics in protein structure stabilization and the (un)folding pathway. A sudden retardation in solvent dynamics, which is coupled to the change in protein structure, is observed at a critical trifluoroethanol concentration. The large amplitude conformational changes are regulated by the local solvent hydrophobicity and bulk solvent viscosity.

Fourier transform infrared and Raman spectral assignments and analysis of 7-amino-4-trifluoromethylcoumarin

FTIR and FT-Raman spectra of 7-amino-4-trifluoromethylcoumarin (ATMC) have been recorded in the range 4000-400 and 3500-100 cm(-1), respectively, using Bruker IFS 66 V spectrometer. A detailed vibrational analysis has been carried out and assignments of the observed fundamental bands have been proposed on the basis of peak positions, relative intensities, fundamentals, overtones and combination bands. With hope of providing more and effective information on the fundamental vibrations, a normal co-ordinate analysis has been performed by assuming C(S) point group symmetry. The simple valance force field (SVFF) has been employed in normal co-ordinate analysis and to calculate the potential energy distribution (PED) for each fundamental vibration are reported. The PED contribution to each of the observed frequencies shows the reliability and precision of the spectral analysis.

Time-resolved spectroscopic studies of B12 coenzymes: comparison of the influence of solvent on the primary photolysis mechanism and geminate recombination of methyl-, ethyl-, n-propyl-, and 5'-deoxyadenosylcobalamin

A transient absorption study of the photolysis of methylcobalamin (MeCbl), ethylcobalamin (EtCbl), and n-propylcobalamin (PrCbl) in ethylene glycol spanning six decades in time, from 10 fs to 10 ns, is reported. These measurements probe the influence of solvent on the formation and decay of the metal-to-ligand charge transfer (MLCT) intermediate observed following excitation of MeCbl, the photolysis mechanism in EtCbl and PrCbl, and the rate constants for geminate recombination of the alkyl radicals with cob(II)alamin and for the escape of the alkyl radicals from the initial solvent cage. Earlier investigations probed the dynamics of 5'-dexoyadenosylcobalamin (coenzyme B(12)) in water and ethylene glycol (Yoder, L. M.; Cole, A. G.; Walker, L. A., II; Sension, R. J. J. Phys. Chem. B 2001, 105, 12180-12188) and alkylcobalamins in water (Cole, A. G.; Yoder, L. M.; Shiang, J. J.; Anderson, N. A.; Walker, L. A., II; Banaszak Holl, M. M.; Sension, R. J. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2002, 124, 434-441). The results of these investigations are discussed in the context of the literature on the frictional influence of solvent on chemical reaction dynamics. The measurements allow a separation of the influence of the solvent on the intrinsic rate constant for geminate recombination and the rate constant for escape from the initial solvent cage. The rate constant for the intrinsic geminate recombination of cob(II)alamin with the alkyl radical is weakly dependent on the solvent and on the nature of the alkyl radical (Me, Et, Pr, or Ado). The Et, Pr, and Ado radicals exhibit the behavior expected for diffusion-controlled escape from the initial solvent cage. In contrast, the magnitude of cage escape for the Me radical is much larger than anticipated on the basis of hydrodynamic arguments.

Solvation and Rotational Dynamics of Coumarin 153 in Ionic Liquids: Comparisons to Conventional Solvents

Steady-state and time-resolved emission spectroscopy with 25 ps resolution are used to measure equilibrium and dynamic aspects of the solvation of coumarin 153 (C153) in a diverse collection of 21 room-temperature ionic liquids. The ionic liquids studied here include several phosphonium and imidazolium liquids previously reported as well as 12 new ionic liquids that incorporate two homologous series of ammonium and pyrrolidinium cations. Steady-state absorption and emission spectra are used to extract solvation free energies and reorganization energies associated with the S0 <--> S1 transition of C153. These quantities, especially the solvation free energy, vary relatively little in ionic liquids compared to conventional solvents. Some correlation is found between these quantities and the mean separation between ions (or molar volume). Time-resolved anisotropies are used to observe solute rotation. Rotation times measured in ionic liquids correlate with solvent viscosity in much the same way that they do in conventional polar solvents. No special frictional coupling between the C153 and the ionic liquid solvents is indicated by these times. But, in contrast to what is observed in most low-viscosity conventional solvents, rotational correlation functions in ionic liquids are nonexponential. Time-resolved Stokes shift measurements are used to characterize solvation dynamics. The solvation response functions in ionic liquids are also nonexponential and can be reasonably represented by stretched-exponential functions of time. The solvation times observed are correlated with the solvent viscosity, and the much slower solvation in ionic liquids compared to dipolar solvents can be attributed to their much larger viscosities. Solvation times of the majority of ionic liquids studied appear to follow a single correlation with solvent viscosity. Only liquids incorporating the largest phosphonium cation appear to follow a distinctly different correlation.

Influence of Environment on the Electronic Structure of Cob(III)alamins: Time-Resolved Absorption Studies of the S1 State Spectrum and Dynamics

Transient absorption spectroscopy has been used to elucidate the nature of the S1 intermediate state populated following excitation of cob(III)alamin (Cbl(III)) compounds. This state is sensitive both to axial ligation and to solvent polarity. The excited-state lifetime as a function of temperature and solvent environment is used to separate the dynamic and electrostatic influence of the solvent. Two distinct types of excited states are identified, both assigned to pi3d configurations. The spectra of both types of excited states are characterized by a red absorption band (ca. 600 nm) assigned to Co 3d --> 3d or Co 3d --> corrin pi* transitions and by visible absorption bands similar to the corrin pi-->pi* transitions observed for ground state Cbl(III) compounds. The excited state observed following excitation of nonalkyl Cbl(III) compounds has an excited-state spectrum characteristic of Cbl(III) molecules with a weakened bond to the axial ligand (Type I). A similar excited-state spectrum is observed for adenosylcobalamin (AdoCbl) in water and ethylene glycol. The excited-state spectrum of methyl, ethyl, and n-propylcobalamin is characteristic of a Cbl(III) species with a sigma-donating alkyl anion ligand (Type II). This Type II excited-state spectrum is also observed for AdoCbl bound to glutamate mutase. The results are discussed in the context of theoretical calculations of Cbl(III) species reported in the literature and highlight the need for additional calculations exploring the influence of the alkyl ligand on the electronic structure of cobalamins.

Measurements of the Complete Solvation Response in Ionic Liquids

Dynamic Stokes shift measurements of the solvatochromic probe trans-4-dimethylamino-4'-cyanostilbene were used to measure the solvation response of five imidazolium and one pyrrolidinium ionic liquid at 25 degrees C. The Kerr-gated emission and time-correlated single-photon-counting techniques were used to measure spectral dynamics occurring over the time ranges of 100 fs-200 ps and 50 ps-5 ns, respectively, and a combination of data sets from these two techniques enabled observation of the complete solvation response. Observed response functions were found to be biphasic, consisting of a sub-picosecond component of modest (10-20%) amplitude and a dominant slower component relaxing over times of a few picoseconds to several nanoseconds. The faster component could be correlated to inertial characteristics of the constituent ions, and the slower component to solvent viscosity. Dielectric continuum calculations of the sort previously used to predict solvation dynamics in dipolar liquids were shown to work poorly for predicting the response in these ionic liquids.

Solvent Dependent Conformational Relaxation of cis-1,3,5-Hexatriene

Ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy was used to study the conformational relaxation dynamics of 1,3,5-cis-hexatriene (Z-HT) produced in the photochemical ring-opening reaction of 1,3-cyclohexadiene (CHD) in methanol and n-propanol solvents. The results are compared with earlier investigations performed using cyclohexane and hexadecane solvents [Anderson, N. A.; Pullen, S. H.; Walker II, L. A.; Shiang, J. J.; Sension, R. J.; J. Phys. Chem. A 1998, 102, 10588-10598.]. The conformational relaxation between hot cZc-HT, cZt-HT, and tZt-HT, where the labels c and t designate cis and trans configurations about the single bonds, is much faster in alcohol solvents than in alkane solvents. The hot Z-HT produced in the photochemical ring-opening reaction evolves from the conformationally strained cZc-HT form to the more stable cZt-HT form on a time scale of 2 ps in alcohols compared with 6 ps in alkanes. The overall decay of the internal vibrational temperature of the hot Z-HT is faster in alcohols (5-6 ps) than alkanes (12-20 ps) and is weakly dependent on the specific alcohol or alkane solvent. A small population of cZt-HT (5-10%) is trapped as the solute equilibrates with the surrounding solvent following UV excitation of CHD or direct UV excitation of Z-HT. The influence of solvent on conformational relaxation of Z-HT was investigated further by probing the temperature dependence of the decay of this thermally equilibrated cZt-HT population. The apparent barrier for the cZt --> tZt conformational isomerization is lower in alcohols (17.4 kJ/mol) than in alkanes (23.5 kJ/mol). However the equilibrium Arrhenius prefactor (A(h)) is an order of magnitude smaller for alcohols (ca. 4 x 10(12)) than alkanes (ca. 6 x 10(13)) resulting in an absolute rate of decay that is faster in the alkane than in the alcohol solvents. These results are discussed in the context of transition state theory and Kramers' theory for condensed phase reaction dynamics.

Photophysics of trans-4-(Dimethylamino)-4‘-cyanostilbene and Its Use as a Solvation Probe

Electronic structure calculations, steady-state electronic spectroscopy, and femtosecond time-resolved emission spectroscopy are used to examine the photophysics of trans-4-(dimethylamino)-4'-cyanostilbene (DCS) and its solvent dependence. Semiempirical AM1/CI calculations suggest that an anilino TICT state is a potential candidate for the emissive state of DCS in polar solvents. But observation of large and solvent-independent absorption and emission transition moments in a number of solvents (M(abs) = 6.7 +/- 0.4 D and M(em) = 7.6 +/- 0.8 D) rule out the involvement of any such state, which would have a vanishingly small transition moment. The absorption and steady-state emission spectra of DCS evolve in a systematic manner with solvent polarity, approximately as would be expected for a single, highly polar excited state. Attempts to fit the solvatochromism of DCS using standard dielectric continuum models are only partially successful when values of the solute dipole moments suggested by independent measurements are assumed. The shapes of the absorption and emission spectra of DCS change systematically with solvent polarity in a manner that is semiquantitatively reproduced using a coupled-state model of the spectroscopy. Kerr-gate emission measurements show that the emission dynamics of DCS down to subpicosecond times reflect only solvent relaxation, rather than any more complicated electronic state kinetics. The spectral response functions measured with DCS are well correlated to those previously reported for the solvation probe coumarin 153, indicating DCS to be a useful alternative probe of solvation dynamics.

The effects of solute-solvent electrostatic interactions on solvation dynamics in supercritical CO2

We present here the results of molecular-dynamics simulation of solvation dynamics in supercritical CO(2) at a temperature of about 1.05T(c), where T(c) is the critical temperature, and at a series of densities ranging from 0.4 to 2.0 of the critical density rho(c). We focus on electrostatic solvation dynamics, representing the electronic excitation of the chromophore as a change in its charge distribution from a quadrupolar-symmetry ground state to a dipolar excited state. Two perturbations are considered, corresponding to different magnitudes of solute excited-state dipoles, denoted as d5 and d8. The d8 solute is more attractive, leading to a larger enhancement in CO(2) clustering upon solute electronic excitation. This has a large impact on solvation dynamics, especially at densities below rho(c). At these densities, solvation dynamics is much slower for the d8 than for the d5 solute. For both solutes, solvation dynamics becomes faster at densities above rho(c) at which solvent clustering diminishes. We show that the slowest solvation time scale is associated with solvent clustering and we relate it to solute-solvent mutual translational diffusion and the extent of change in effective local density resulting from solute electronic excitation.

Anomalous Microscopic Dielectric Response of Dipolar Solvents and Water

This paper reports measurements of static microscopic dielectric response of several dipolar solvents to charge redistribution in a fluorescent probe. Contrary to recent predictions of dielectric theories and computer simulations of bulk liquids, the observed dielectric response of most solvents conforms to the macroscopic continuum description even at atomic distances, as if these solvents had no spatial intermolecular structure. Such conformance is observed for several probes when the contribution of specific probe-solvent interactions to the response is negligible. However, water, formamide, and glycerol exhibit anomalous responses even though such a probe is used. We discuss a possible reason for the macroscopic-like behavior and a connection between the anomaly and fluctuating structures formed by anomalous solvents near the hydrophobic surface of the probe.

Rotational diffusion of the 7-diethylamino-4-methylcoumarin C1 dye molecule in polar protic and aprotic solvents

Fluorescence anisotropy decays of the 7-diethylamino-4-methylcoumarin C1 in various polar solvents of different viscosities and hydrogen bond donor/acceptor character have been recorded by means of the fluorescence upconversion and time-correlated single photon counting techniques. The resulting characteristic times for the rotational diffusion fall into two classes with regards to the viscosity-dependency: n-alcohols and "other" solvents. This deviation from the simple Stokes-Einstein-Debye model may be interpreted in terms of rotation of the coumarin molecule under two different hydrodynamic boundary-conditions ("stick" or "slip") in the two solvent classes. Possible explanations for this behaviour are discussed, and in particular solvent attachment and additional dielectric friction. Both these phenomena may in fact, under certain conditions, explain our findings. Our opinion, however, is that the dielectric friction model offers a more realistic picture of the additional rotational friction experienced by C1 in n-alcohols.