NH+-F hydrogen bonding in a fluorinated "proton sponge" derivative: integration of solution, solid-state, gas-phase, and computational studies

We report detailed studies on the characterization of an intramolecular NH-F hydrogen bond formed within a fluorinated "proton sponge" derivative. An ammonium ion, generated from 8-fluoro-N,N-dimethylnaphthalen-1-amine, serves as a charged hydrogen bond donor to a covalently bound fluorine appropriately positioned on the naphthalene skeleton. Potentiometric titrations of various N,N-dimethylnaphthalen-1-amines demonstrate a significant increase in basicity when hydrogen bonding is possible. X-ray crystallography reveals that NH-F hydrogen bonding in protonated 8-fluoro-N,N-dimethylnaphthalen-1-amine is heavily influenced by ion pairing in the solid state; bifurcated and trifurcated hydrogen bonds are formed depending on the counterion utilized. Compelling evidence of hydrogen bonding in the 8-fluoro-N,N-dimethylnaphthyl-1-ammonium cation is provided by gas-phase cryogenic vibrational photodissociation spectroscopy. Solution-phase infrared spectroscopy provides complementary results, and the frequencies of the N-H stretching mode in both phases are in excellent agreement with the computed vibrational spectra. NMR analysis of protonated 8-fluoro-N,N-dimethylnaphthalen-1-amine demonstrates significant H-F coupling between the N-H hydrogen and fluorine that cannot be attributed to long-range, through-bond interactions; the couplings correlate favorably with calculated values. The results obtained from these experiments are congruent with the formation of an NH-F hydrogen bond upon protonation of 8-fluoro-N,N-dimethylnaphthalen-1-amine.     

Vibrational manifestations of strong non-Condon effects in the H3O(+)·X3 (X = Ar, N2, CH4, H2O) complexes: a possible explanation for the intensity in the "association band" in the vibrational spectrum of water

The harmonic approximation provides a powerful approach for interpreting vibrational spectra. In this treatment, the energy and intensity of the 3N- 6 normal modes are calculated using a quadratic expansion of the potential energy and a linear expansion of the dipole moment surfaces, respectively. In reality, transitions are often observed that are not accounted for by this approach (e.g. combination bands, overtones, etc.), and these transitions arise from inherent anharmonicities present in the system. One interesting example occurs in the vibrational spectrum of H(2)O((l)), where a band is observed near 2000 cm(-1) that is commonly referred to as the "association band". This band lies far from the expected bend and stretching modes of the water molecule, and is not recovered at the harmonic level. In a recent study, we identified a band in this spectral region in gas-phase clusters involving atomic and molecular adducts to the H(3)O(+) ion. In the current study we probe the origins of this band through a systematic analysis of the argon-predissociation spectra of H(3)O(+)·X(3) where X = Ar, CH(4), N(2) or H(2)O, with particular attention to the contributions from the non-linearities in the dipole surfaces, often referred to as non-Condon effects. The spectra of the H(3)O(+) clusters all display strong transitions between 1900-2100 cm(-1), and theoretical modeling indicates that they can be assigned to a combination band involving the HOH bend and frustrated rotation of H(3)O(+) in the solvent cage. This transition derives its oscillator strength entirely from strong non-Condon effects, and we discuss its possible relationship to the association band in the spectrum of liquid water.     

Probing isomer interconversion in anionic water clusters using an Ar-mediated pump-probe approach: Combining vibrational predissociation and velocity-map photoelectron imaging spectroscopies

We present the first results from an experiment designed to explore barriers for interconversion between isomers of cluster anions using an Ar-cluster mediated pump-probe technique. In this approach, anions are generated with many Ar atoms attached, and one of the isomers present is selectively excited by tuning an infrared laser to one of the isomer's characteristic vibrational resonances. The excited cluster is then cooled by evaporation of Ar atoms, and the isomer distribution in the lighter daughter ions is measured after secondary mass selection by recording their photoelectron spectra using velocity-map imaging. We apply the method to the water hexamer anion, (H(2)O)(6) (-), which is known to occur in two isomeric forms with different electron-binding energies. We find that conversion of the high-binding (type I) form to the low-binding (type II) isomer is not efficiently driven in (H(2)O)(6) (-) with excitation energies in the 0.4 eV range even though it is possible to create both isomers in abundance in the ion source. This observation is discussed in the context of the competition between isomerization and electron autodetachment, which depends on the relative positions of the neutral and ionic potential surfaces along the isomerization pathway. Application of the method to the more complex heptamer ion, however, does reveal that interconversion is available among the highest binding isomer classes (I and I(')).     

Bottom-up view of water network-mediated CO2 reduction using cryogenic cluster ion spectroscopy and direct dynamics simulations

The transition states of a chemical reaction in solution are generally accessed through exchange of thermal energy between the solvent and the reactants. As such, an ensemble of reacting systems approaches the transition state configuration of reactant and surrounding solvent in an incoherent manner that does not lend itself to direct experimental observation. Here we describe how gas-phase cluster chemistry can provide a detailed picture of the microscopic mechanics at play when a network of six water molecules mediates the trapping of a highly reactive "hydrated electron" onto a neutral CO(2) molecule to form a radical anion. The exothermic reaction is triggered from a metastable intermediate by selective excitation of either the reactant CO(2) or the water network, which is evidenced by the evaporative decomposition of the product cluster. Ab initio molecular dynamics simulations of energized CO(2)·(H(2)O)(6)(-) clusters are used to elucidate the nature of the network deformations that mediate intracluster electron capture, thus revealing the detailed solvent fluctuations implicit in the Marcus theory for electron-transfer kinetics in solution.     

Unraveling anharmonic effects in the vibrational predissociation spectra of H5O2(+) and its deuterated analogues

The nature of anharmonic couplings in the H(5)O(2)(+) "Zundel" ion and its deuterated isotopologues is investigated through comparison of their measured and calculated vibrational spectra. This follows a recent study in which we reported spectra for H(5)O(2)(+), D(5)O(2)(+), and D(4)HO(2)(+) from ～600 to 4000 cm(-1), as well as H(4)DO(2)(+) in the OH and OD stretching regions [ J. Phys. Chem. B 2008 , 112 , 321 ]. While the assignments of the higher-energy transitions associated with the fundamentals of the exterior OH and OD motions are relatively straightforward, difficulties arise in the assignment of the lower-frequency regions that involve displacement of the bridging proton, especially for the isotopically mixed species. Here we revisit the Ar-tagged isotopomers, and report the low energy action spectrum of H(4)DO(2)(+) for the first time, as well as present significantly improved spectra for the D(4)HO(2)(+) and D(5)O(2)(+) systems. Band assignments are clarified in several cases using IR-IR hole-burning. We then investigate the physical origin of the anharmonic effects encoded in these spectra using a recently developed technique in which the anharmonic frequencies and intensities of transitions (involving up to two quanta of excitation) are evaluated using the ground state probability amplitudes [ J. Phys. Chem. A 2009 , 113 , 7346 ] obtained from diffusion Monte Carlo simulations. This approach has the advantage that it is applicable to low-symmetry systems [such as (HDO)H(+)(OH(2))] that are not readily addressed using highly accurate methods such as the multiconfigurational time-dependent Hartree (MCTDH) approach. Moreover, it naturally accommodates an intuitive evaluation of the types of motion that contribute oscillator strength in the various regions of the spectrum, even when the wave function is intrinsically not separable as a product of low-dimensional approximate solutions. Spectra for H(5)O(2)(+), D(5)O(2)(+), H(4)DO(2)(+), and D(4)HO(2)(+) that are calculated by this approach are shown to be in excellent agreement with the measured spectra for these species, leading to reassignments of two of the bands in the intramolecular bending region of D(4)HO(2)(+).     

Raman spectral analysis of renal tissue: a novel application

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) accounts for 85% of all primary renal cancers. The definitive diagnosis of RCC relies exclusively on the subjective pathological interpretation of the surgical specimen. In this study, we aimed to analyze renal tissue using objective Raman spectroscopy (RS). We obtained 15 pairs of RCC (T) and corresponding normal renal parenchymal tissues (N) from our biobank. There are three subtypes of RCC: clear cell RCC (ccRCC), papillary RCC (pRCC), and chromophobe RCC (cRCC). Five pairs of tissue of each subtype were enrolled. Fresh‐frozen sliced tissues were used for the RS detection. The Raman spectra between T and N were compared and analyzed using partial least squares (PLS) regression. Data for a total of 55 T and 58 N analyzable RS samples were obtained. The spectra were normalized by dividing the intensity of the characteristic peak at 1003 cm⁻¹ using phenylalanine's Raman peak. After further analysis with PLS, the sensitivity and specificity for discriminating T from N were 95% and 93%, respectively. The RCC subtypes can be discriminated at an accuracy of 72% for ccRCC, 88% for cRCC, and 86% for pRCC. This study demonstrates the feasibility of analyzing renal tissue using RS. RS, with its advantages of easy and objective tissue assessment, may be applied to aid intraoperative decision making and pathological tissue assessment. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.