The effect of octahedral tilting on proton binding sites and transition states in pseudo-cubic perovskite oxides

Proton conducting oxide ceramics have shown potential for use in fuel cell technologies. Understanding the energy pathways for proton conduction could help us design more efficient fuel cell materials. This paper describes how octahedral tilting affects the relative energies of proton binding sites, transition states, and conduction pathways in cubic and pseudo-cubic perovskites. First, the structure for cubic and pseudo-cubic forms of BaTiO(3), BaZrO(3), CaTiO(3), and CaZrO(3), is found. Even when cubic symmetry is enforced, CaTiO(3), and CaZrO(3) exhibit octahedral tilting distortions characteristic of orthorhombic phases while BaTiO(3) and BaZrO(3) remain undistorted. Octahedral tilting gives rise to proton binding sites facilitating inter- and intra-octahedral proton transfer while the proton binding sites of undistorted perovskites facilitate only intra-octahedral proton transfer. The nudged elastic band method is used to find minimum energy paths between the proton binding sites. As distortions increase, inter-octahedral proton transfer barriers decrease while intra-octahedral proton transfer barriers increase. Concurrently, rotational barriers from oxygens facilitating inter-octahedral proton transfer increase while rotational barriers from oxygens facilitating intra-octahedral proton transfer decrease. Intra-octahedral transfer is the rate-limiting step to the lowest energy extended proton conduction pathway in all the perovskites considered.     

Doping effects on proton incorporation and conduction in SrZrO3

The doping effects on the proton incorporation and protonic conductivity of perovskite-type SrZrO3 were investigated using the density functional theory (DFT) with the generalized gradient approximation (GGA). The optimized geometries, formation energies of hydrogen defect and activation energies for hydrogen diffusion in SrZrO3 doped with Al, Sc, Ga, Y, Rh, In, and Yb were calculated. It was shown that the doping leads to large local distortions around hydrogen and dopant ion, affecting the protonic conduction in these oxides. The alignment of hydrogen levels varies with the dopant introduced into the SrZrO3. In In-, Y-, Sc-, Ga-, and Al-doped SrZrO3, the H+ is the lowest energy state in all the bandgap. But for Yb- and Rh-doped SrZrO3, the H+ is the lowest energy state only when the Fermi energy below 2.37 and 2.66 eV, respectively. The estimates of the activation energy show good agreement between the measured and calculated activation energies. Also, the hydrogen diffusion seems to become more difficult as the distance between hydrogen and dopant ion decreases.     

Excited state proton transfer in guanine in the gas phase and in water solution: a theoretical study

Theoretical investigations were performed to study the phenomena of ground and electronic excited state proton transfer in the isolated and monohydrated forms of guanine. Ground and transition state geometries were optimized at both the B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) and HF/6-311G(d,p) levels. The geometries of tautomers including those of transition states corresponding to the proton transfer from the keto to the enol form of guanine were also optimized in the lowest singlet pipi* excited state using the configuration interaction singles (CIS) method and the 6-311G(d,p) basis set. The time-dependent density function theory method augmented with the B3LYP functional (TD-B3LYP) and the 6-311++G(d,p) basis set was used to compute vertical transition energies using the B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) geometries. The TD-B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) calculations were also performed using the CIS/6-311G(d,p) geometries to predict the adiabatic transition energies of different tautomers and the excited state proton transfer barrier heights of guanine tautomerization. The effect of the bulk aqueous environment was considered using the polarizable continuum model (PCM). The harmonic vibrational frequency calculations were performed to ascertain the nature of potential energy surfaces. The excited state geometries including that of transition states were found to be largely nonplanar. The nonplanar fragment was mostly localized in the six-membered ring. Geometries of the hydrated transition states in the ground and lowest singlet pipi* excited states were found to be zwitterionic in which the water molecule is in the form of hydronium cation (H3O(+)) and guanine is in the anionic form, except for the N9H form in the excited state where water molecule is in the hydroxyl anionic form (OH(-)) and the guanine is in the cationic form. It was found that proton transfer is characterized by a high barrier height both in the gas phase and in the bulk water solution. The explicit inclusion of a water molecule in the proton transfer reaction path reduces the barrier height drastically. The excited state barrier height was generally found to be increased as compared to that in the ground state. On the basis of the current theoretical calculation it appears that the singlet electronic excitation of guanine may not facilitate the excited state proton transfer corresponding to the tautomerization of the keto to the enol form.     

High-level ab initio calculations for the four low-lying families of minima of (H2O)20. II. Spectroscopic signatures of the dodecahedron, fused cubes, face-sharing pentagonal prisms, and edge-sharing pentagonal prisms hydrogen bonding networks

We report the first harmonic vibrational spectra for each of the lowest lying isomers within the four major families of minima of (H2O)20, namely, the dodecahedron, fused cubes, face-sharing pentagonal prisms, and edge-sharing pentagonal prisms. These were obtained at the second-order Moller-Plesset perturbation level of theory (MP2) with the augmented correlation consistent basis set of double zeta quality (aug-cc-pVDZ) at the corresponding minimum energy geometries. The computed infrared (IR) spectra are the first ones obtained from first principles for these clusters. They were found to contain spectral features, which can be directly mapped onto the distinctive spectroscopic signatures of their constituent tetramer, pentamer, and octamer fragments. The dodecahedron spectra show the richest structure in the OH stretching region and are associated with the most redshifted OH vibrations with respect to the monomer. The lowest lying edge-sharing pentagonal prism isomer displays intense IR active vibrations that are redshifted by approximately 600 cm(-1) with respect to the water monomer. Furthermore the most redshifted, IR-active OH stretching vibrations for all four networks correspond to hydrogen bonded OH groups, which exhibit the following two common characteristics: (i) they belong to fragments which have a "free" OH stretch and (ii) they act as donors to a neighboring water molecule along a "dimerlike" (strong) hydrogen bond. The zero-point energy corrected MP2/CBS (complete basis set) limit binding energies D(0) for the four isomers are -163.1 kcal/mol (edge-sharing pentagonal prism), -160.1 kcal/mol (face-sharing pentagonal prism), -157.5 kcal/mol (fused cubes), and -148.1 kcal/mol (dodecahedron).     

Theoretical studies for excited-state tautomerization in the 7-azaindole-(CH3OH)n (n = 1 and 2) complexes in the gas phase

The excited-state tautomerization of 7-azaindole (7AI) complexes bonded with either one or two methanol molecule(s) was studied by systematic quantum mechanical calculations in the gas phases. Electronic structures and energies for the reactant, transition state (TS), and product were computed at the complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) levels with the second-order multireference perturbation theory (MRPT2) to consider the dynamic electron correlation. The time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) was also used for comparison. The excited-state double proton transfer (ESDPT) in 7AI-CH(3)OH occurs in a concerted but asynchronous mechanism. Similarly, such paths are also found in the two transition states during the excited-state triple proton transfer (ESTPT) of the 7AI-(CH(3)OH)(2) complex. In the first TS, the pyrrole ring proton first migrated to methanol, while in the second the methanol proton moved first to the pyridine ring. The CASSCF level with the MRPT2 correction showed that the former path was much preferable to the latter, and the ESDPT is much slower than the ESTPT. Additionally, the vibrational-mode enhanced tautomerization in the 7AI-(CH(3)OH)(2) complex was also studied. We found that the excitation of the low-frequency mode shortens the reaction path to increase the tautomerization rate. Overall, most TDDFT methods used in this study predicted different TS structures and barriers from the CASSCF methods with MRPT2 corrections.     

Energetics of cytosine singlet excited-state decay paths--a difficult case for CASSCF and CASPT2

Three deactivation paths for singlet excited cytosine are calculated at the CASPT2//CASSCF (complete active space second-order perturbation//complete active space self-consistent field) level of theory, using extended active spaces that allow for a reliable characterization of the paths and their energies. The lowest energy path, with a barrier of approximately 0.1 eV, corresponds to torsion of the C5-C6 bond, and the decay takes place at a conical intersection analogous to the one found for ethylene and its derivatives. There is a further path with a low energy barrier of approximately 0.2 eV associated with the (n(N),pi*) state which could also be populated with a low energy excitation. The path associated with a conical intersection between the ground and (n(O),pi*) states is significantly higher in energy (> 1 eV). The presence of minima on the potential energy surface for the (n,pi*) states that could contribute to the biexponential decay found in the gas phase was investigated, but could not be established unequivocally.     

Cooperativity of hydrogen-bonded networks in 7-azaindole(CH3OH)n (n=2,3) clusters evidenced by IR-UV ion-dip spectroscopy and natural bond orbital analysis

IR-UV ion-dip spectra of the 7-azaindole (7AI)(CH(3)OH)(n) (n=1-3) clusters have been measured in the hydrogen-bonded NH and OH stretching regions to investigate the stable structures of 7AI(CH(3)OH)(n) (n=1-3) in the S(0) state and the cooperativity of the H-bonding interactions in the H-bonded networks. The comparison of the IR-UV ion-dip spectra with IR spectra obtained by quantum chemistry calculations shows that 7AI(CH(3)OH)(n) (n=1-3) have cyclic H-bonded structures, where the NH group and the heteroaromatic N atom of 7AI act as the proton donor and proton acceptor, respectively. The H-bonded OH stretch fundamental of 7AI(CH(3)OH)(2) is remarkably redshifted from the corresponding fundamental of (CH(3)OH)(2) by 286 cm(-1), which is an experimental manifestation of the cooperativity in H-bonding interaction. Similarly, two localized OH fundamentals of 7AI(CH(3)OH)(3) also exhibit large redshifts. The cooperativity of 7AI(CH(3)OH)(n) (n=2,3) is successfully explained by the donor-acceptor electron delocalization interactions between the lone-pair orbital in the proton acceptor and the antibonding orbital in the proton donor in natural bond orbital (NBO) analyses.     

AsH3 ultraviolet photochemistry: an ab initio view

Multireference configuration interaction calculations have been carried out for low-lying electronic states of AsH(3). Bending potentials for the nine lowest states of AsH(3) are obtained in C(3v) symmetry for As-H distances fixed at the ground state equilibrium value of 2.850 a(0), as well as for the minimum energy path constrained to R(1) = R(2) = R(3). The calculated equilibrium geometry and bond energy for the X (1)A(1) ground state agree very well with the previous experimental and theoretical data. It is shown that the lowest excited singlet state belongs to the (1)A(1) symmetry (in C(3v)), in contradiction to the previous calculations. This state is characterized by a planar equilibrium geometry. Asymmetric stretch potential energy surface (PES) cuts along the H(2)As-H recoil coordinate (at R(1) = R(2) = 2.850 a(0), θ = 123.9° and 90°) for numerous excited states and two-dimensional PESs for the X and ? states up to the dissociation limits are obtained for the first time. The ? (1)A(1), B(1)E-X (1)A(1) transition moments are calculated as well and used together with the PES data for the analysis of possible photodecay channels of arsine in its first absorption band.     

苯甲醛肟偶极互变反应的理论研究

研究了苯甲醛肟Z构型和E构型两种异构体与相应偶极体的3条互变反应途径:(1)单分子内质子转移反应,质子由肟羟基转移至邻位的氮上,过渡态为三角形结构,反应能垒较高;(2)二聚体内的质子互换反应,质子分别从一个肟羟基转移到另一个肟的氮上,过渡态为六元环结构,能垒较低,理论反应速度较大,但平衡常数较小;(3)肟羟基与甲醇的质子互换反应,过渡态具有五元环结构,能垒和反应速度介于上述两者之间.结果表明,在3条反应途径上,Z构型和E构型均有类似的过渡态,Z构型有利于偶极体存在.在室温下主要通过二聚体内质子交换进行互变反应,实际体系中由于偶极体不断被消耗,反应可以持续进行.     

Silicate glass and mineral dissolution: calculated reaction paths and activation energies for hydrolysis of a q3 si by H3O+ using ab initio methods

Molecular orbital energy minimizations were performed with the B3LYP/6-31G(d) method on a [((OH)3SiO)3SiOH-(H3O+).4(H2O)] cluster to follow the reaction path for hydrolysis of an Si-O-Si linkage via proton catalysis in a partially solvated system. The Q3 molecule was chosen (rather than Q2 or Q1) to estimate the maximum activation energy for a fully relaxed cluster representing the surface of an Al-depleted acid-etched alkali feldspar. Water molecules were included in the cluster to investigate the influence of explicit solvation on proton-transfer reactions and on the energy associated with hydroxylating the bridging oxygen atom (Obr). Single-point energy calculations were performed with the B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p) method. Proton transfer from the hydronium cation to an Obr requires sufficient energy to suggest that the Si-(OH)-Si species will occur only in trace quantities on a silica surface. Protonation of the Obr lengthens the Si-Obr bond and allows for the formation of a pentacoordinate Si intermediate ([5]Si). The energy required to form this species is the dominant component of the activation energy barrier to hydrolysis. After formation of the pentacoordinate intermediate, hydrolysis occurs via breaking the [5]Si-(OH)-Si linkage with a minimal activation energy barrier. A concerted mechanism involving stretching of the [5]Si-(OH) bond, proton transfer from the Si-(OH2)+ back to form H3O+, and a reversion of [5]Si to tetrahedral coordination was predicted. The activation energy for Q3Si hydrolysis calculated here was found to be less than that reported for Q3Si using a constrained cluster in the literature but significantly greater than the measured activation energies for the hydrolysis of Si-Obr bonds in silicate minerals. These results suggest that the rate-limiting step in silicate dissolution is not the hydrolysis of Q3Si-Obr bonds but rather the breakage of Q2 or Q1Si-Obr bonds.     

Mechanism of the hydration of carbon dioxide: direct participation of H2O versus microsolvation

Thermochemical parameters of carbonic acid and the stationary points on the neutral hydration pathways of carbon dioxide, CO 2 + nH 2O --> H 2CO 3 + ( n - 1)H 2O, with n = 1, 2, 3, and 4, were calculated using geometries optimized at the MP2/aug-cc-pVTZ level. Coupled-cluster theory (CCSD(T)) energies were extrapolated to the complete basis set limit in most cases and then used to evaluate heats of formation. A high energy barrier of approximately 50 kcal/mol was predicted for the addition of one water molecule to CO 2 ( n = 1). This barrier is lowered in cyclic H-bonded systems of CO 2 with water dimer and water trimer in which preassociation complexes are formed with binding energies of approximately 7 and 15 kcal/mol, respectively. For n = 2, a trimeric six-member cyclic transition state has an energy barrier of approximately 33 (gas phase) and a free energy barrier of approximately 31 (in a continuum solvent model of water at 298 K) kcal/mol, relative to the precomplex. For n = 3, two reactive pathways are possible with the first having all three water molecules involved in hydrogen transfer via an eight-member cycle, and in the second, the third water molecule is not directly involved in the hydrogen transfer but solvates the n = 2 transition state. In the gas phase, the two transition states have comparable energies of approximately 15 kcal/mol relative to separated reactants. The first path is favored over in aqueous solution by approximately 5 kcal/mol in free energy due to the formation of a structure resembling a (HCO 3 (-)/H 3OH 2O (+)) ion pair. Bulk solvation reduces the free energy barrier of the first path by approximately 10 kcal/mol for a free energy barrier of approximately 22 kcal/mol for the (CO 2 + 3H 2O) aq reaction. For n = 4, the transition state, in which a three-water chain takes part in the hydrogen transfer while the fourth water microsolvates the cluster, is energetically more favored than transition states incorporating two or four active water molecules. An energy barrier of approximately 20 (gas phase) and a free energy barrier of approximately 19 (in water) kcal/mol were derived for the CO 2 + 4H 2O reaction, and again formation of an ion pair is important. The calculated results confirm the crucial role of direct participation of three water molecules ( n = 3) in the eight-member cyclic TS for the CO 2 hydration reaction. Carbonic acid and its water complexes are consistently higher in energy (by approximately 6-7 kcal/mol) than the corresponding CO 2 complexes and can undergo more facile water-assisted dehydration processes.     

Density functional calculations of ATP systems. 2. ATP hydrolysis at the active site of actin

The hydrolysis of adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) at the active site of actin has been studied using density functional calculations. The active site is modeled by the triphosphate tail of ATP, an Mg cation, surrounding water molecules, and the nearby protein residues. Four reaction paths have been followed by constraining coordinates that allow phosphate stretching, nucleophilic attack of the catalytic water, and OH(-) formation via water deprotonation. The lowest-energy barrier (21.0 kcal/mol) is obtained for a dissociative reaction where the terminal phosphate breaks on approaching the catalytic water, followed by proton release via a proton wire mechanism. A higher barrier (39.6 kcal/mol) results for an associative reaction path where OH(-) is formed first, with a pentacoordinated phosphorus atom (P-O distances 2.1 A). Stretching the terminal bridging P-O bond results in bond rupture at 2.8 A with an energy barrier of 28.8 kcal/mol. The residues Gln137 and His161 are not important in the reactions, but insight into their roles in vivo has been obtained. The favored coordination of the end products H(2)PO(4)(-) and ADP(3-) includes a hydrogen bond and an O-Mg-O bridge between the phosphates as well as a hydrogen bond between H(2)PO(4)(-) and the Ser14 side chain. The total energy is 2.1 kcal/mol lower than in the initial reactants. Classical simulations of ATP- and ADP.P(i)-actin show few hydrolysis-induced differences in the protein structure, indicating that phosphate migration is necessary for a change in conformation.     

A quantum generalization of intrinsic reaction coordinate using path integral centroid coordinates

We propose a generalization of the intrinsic reaction coordinate (IRC) for quantum many-body systems described in terms of the mass-weighted ring polymer centroids in the imaginary-time path integral theory. This novel kind of reaction coordinate, which may be called the "centroid IRC," corresponds to the minimum free energy path connecting reactant and product states with a least amount of reversible work applied to the center of masses of the quantum nuclei, i.e., the centroids. We provide a numerical procedure to obtain the centroid IRC based on first principles by combining ab initio path integral simulation with the string method. This approach is applied to NH(3) molecule and N(2)H(5) (-) ion as well as their deuterated isotopomers to study the importance of nuclear quantum effects in the intramolecular and intermolecular proton transfer reactions. We find that, in the intramolecular proton transfer (inversion) of NH(3), the free energy barrier for the centroid variables decreases with an amount of about 20% compared to the classical one at the room temperature. In the intermolecular proton transfer of N(2)H(5) (-), the centroid IRC is largely deviated from the "classical" IRC, and the free energy barrier is reduced by the quantum effects even more drastically.     

IR/UV double resonant spectroscopy of the methyl radical: determination of nu3 in the 3p(z) Rydberg state

IR+UV double resonant ion-dip and ion-enhancement spectroscopies are employed to study the nu3 asymmetric CH stretch vibration fundamental of CH3 in the ground and 3p(z) Rydberg electronic states. CH3 radical is synthesized in the supersonic jet expansion by flash pyrolysis of azomethane (CH3NNCH3) prior to the expansion. The Q band of the 3(1) (1) 3p(z)<--X transition of CH3, not detected by conventional UV resonantly enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) spectroscopy, is determined to lie at 59,898 cm(-1) using IR+UV REMPI spectroscopy. Energy of the asymmetric CH stretch of CH3 in the 3p(z) Rydberg state, nu3(3p(z)), is 3087 cm(-1), redshifted by approximately 74 cm(-1) with respect to ground state nu3(X).     

F Cl_2→ClF Cl和Cl′F Cl→Cl′ ClF的反应机理

用密度泛函理论(DFT)B3LYP方法,取6-311G基组,计算研究了F＋Cl2→ClF＋Cl的反应机理.求得1个线形和2个三角形过渡态,反应能垒分别为1.24、46.37和105.09kJ·mol－1;同时发现F以∠FClCl为10～20°（或120～160°）进攻Cl2时,反应无能垒.此外,求得对称反应Cl′F＋Cl→Cl′＋ClF的能垒为40.57kJ·mol－1的1个过渡态.     

Can hydridic-to-protonic hydrogen bonds catalyze hydride transfers in biological systems?

Catalysis of hydride transfer by hydridic-to-protonic hydrogen (HHH) bonding in α-hydroxy carbonyl isomerization reactions was examined computationally in the lithium salts of 7-substituted endo-3-hydroxybicyclo[2.2.1]hept-5-en-2-ones. The barrier for intramolecular hydride transfer in the parent system was calculated to be 17.2 kcal/mol. Traditional proton donors, such as OH and NH(3)(+), stabilized the metal cation-bridged transition state by 1.4 and 3.3 kcal/mol, respectively. Moreover, among the conformers of the OH systems, the one in which the proton donor is able to interact with the migrating hydride (H(m)) has an activation barrier lower by 1.3 and 1.7 kcal/mol than the other possible OH conformers. By contrast, the presence of an electronegative group such as F, which disfavors the migration electronically by opposing development of hydridic charge, destabilizes the hydride migration by 1.5 kcal/mol relative to the epimeric exo system. In both ground and transition states the H(m)···H distance decreased with increasing acidity of the proton donor, reaching a minimum of 1.58 ? at the transition state for NH(3)(+). Both Mulliken and NPA charges show enhancement of negative character of the migrating hydride in the cases in which HHH bonding is possible.     

Overtone-induced decarboxylation: a potential sink for atmospheric diacids

Atmospheric photochemistry induced by solar excitation of vibrational overtone transitions has recently been demonstrated to be of importance in cleaving weak bonds (in HO(2)NO(2)) and inducing intramolecular rearrangement followed by reaction (in H(2)SO(4)). Here, we propose another potentially important process: the decarboxylation of organic acids. To demonstrate this possibility, we have calculated the decarboxylation pathways for malonic acid and its monohydrate. The barrier to the gas-phase decarboxylation was calculated to be in the range 26-28 kcal/mol at the B3LYP/6-311++G(3df,3pd) level of theory, in good agreement with previous results. The transition state is a six-membered ring structure which is accessed via concerted O-H and C-C stretches; excitation of v(OH) > or = 3 of either one of the OH stretching modes is sufficient to supply the energy needed for the decarboxylation. A low-energy isomer of the malonic acid-water complex forms an eight-membered, multiply hydrogen bonded structure, bound by 3-6 kcal/mol, somewhat less stable than the lowest energy, six-membered ring isomer. Decarboxylation of such complexes uses water as a catalyst; the water accepts an acidic proton from one malonic acid group and transfers a proton to the carbonyl of the other acid group. The barrier for this process is 20-22 kcal/mol, suggesting that complexes excited to v(OH) > or = 2 possess sufficient energy to react. Using estimated absorption cross sections for the OH overtone transitions, we suggest that the overtone-induced decarboxylation of malonic acid and its water complex is competitive with wet deposition of the acid and with gas-phase reaction with OH for removal of the acid.     

先兆型铁电体CaTiO3的第一性原理研究

在广义梯度近似(GGA)下利用全电势线性化的缀加平面波法(FPLAPW)计算了钛酸钙(CaTiO3)的电子结构.将实验测得的晶胞体积记为V0,计算中所用的晶胞体积记为V.当V/V0=1.0时, Ti离子位移为零相应于总能量低能态,钛酸钙不会发生铁电相变.但如果其体积膨胀10%,则Ti离子的位移将导致能量极小值.这意味着在立方钛酸钙中有发生铁电相变的趋势,表明在钛酸钙中存在着体积诱发的铁电相变,即钛酸钙为先兆型铁电体.态密度在V/V0=1.1时, Ti d电子和O(2) p电子之间存在强烈的轨道杂化,这种杂化是出现铁电性的必要条件.电场梯度的结果也表明了这一点.     

Corannulene as a Lewis base: computational modeling of protonation and lithium cation binding.

A computational modeling of the protonation of corannulene at B3LYP/6-311G(d,p)//B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) and of the binding of lithium cations to corannulene at B3LYP/6-311G(d,p)//B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) has been performed. A proton attaches preferentially to one carbon atom, forming a sigma-complex. The isomer protonated at the innermost (hub) carbon has the best total energy. Protonation at the outermost (rim) carbon and at the intermediate (bridgehead rim) carbon is less favorable by ca. 2 and 14 kcal mol(-)(1), respectively. Hydrogen-bridged isomers are transition states between the sigma-complexes; the corresponding activation energies vary from 10 to 26 kcal mol(-)(1). With an empirical correction obtained from calculations on benzene, naphthalene, and azulene, the best estimate for the proton affinity of corannulene is 203 kcal mol(-)(1). The lithium cation positions itself preferentially over a ring. There is a small energetic preference for the 6-ring over the 5-ring binding (up to 2 kcal mol(-)(1)) and of the convex face over the concave face (3-5 kcal mol(-)(1)). The Li-bridged complexes are transition states between the pi-face complexes. Movement of the Li(+) cation over either face is facile, and the activation energy does not exceed 6 kcal mol(-)(1) on the convex face and 2.2 kcal mol(-)(1) on the concave face. In contrast, the transition of Li(+) around the corannulene edge involves a high activation barrier (24 kcal mol(-)(1) with respect to the lowest energy pi-face complex). An easier concave/convex transformation and vice versa is the bowl-to-bowl inversion with an activation energy of 7-12 kcal mol(-)(1). The computed binding energy of Li(+) to corannulene is 44 kcal mol(-)(1). Calculations of the (7)Li NMR chemical shifts and nuclear independent chemical shifts (NICS) have been performed to analyze the aromaticity of the corannulene rings and its changes upon protonation.