Quantum chemical study of the coordination of glycolic acid conformers and their conjugate bases to [Ca(OH2)n] (n=0–4) ions

A detailed exploration of the configurational and conformational space of glycolic acid and their conjugate bases has been carried out with the aid of first principles quantum chemical techniques at the B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p) and CCSD(T)/6-31G(d,p) levels of theory. The most stable configuration among the eight possible glycolic acid conformers corresponds to the E-s-cis, s-trans configuration, while the highest energy E-s-trans, s-cis conformer was found at 10.88 and 12.17 kcal mol⁻¹ higher in energy at the B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p) and CCSD(T)/6-31G(d,p) levels of theory, respectively. Upon dissociation of glycolic acid the s-cis(syn), and s-trans(anti) configurations of the glycolate anion can be formed. The anti conformer was found to be less stable than the syn one by 14.20 and 16.87 kcal mol⁻¹ at the B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p) and CCSD(T)/6-31G(d,p)) levels of theory, respectively. The computed B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p) proton affinity of the syn conformer for the protonation process affording the more stable E-s-cis, s-trans conformer, in vacuum was found to be 325.35 kcal mol⁻¹ (ΔG⁰ value). From a methodological point of view, our results confirm the reliability of the integrated computational tool formed by the B3LYP density functional model. This model has subsequently been used to investigate the interaction of Ca²⁺ ions with the glycolic acid conformers and their conjugate bases in vacuum and in the presence of extra water ligands. For the complexes of glycolic acid conformers the η²–O,O–(COOH) coordination, that is the structure that arises from the coordination of the Ca²⁺ to the carboxylic group, is the global minimum of the PES, while the η²–O(OH),O–(COOH) coordination is a local minimum found at only 1.0 and 1.3 kcal mol⁻¹ higher in energy at the B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p) and CCSD(T)/6-31G(d,p) levels of theory, respectively. Moreover, the two isomers exhibit nearly the same binding affinities, which are predicted to be 89 and 85 kcal mol⁻¹ at the B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p) and CCSD(T)/6-31G(d,p) levels of theory, respectively. The same holds also true for the complexes of the glycolate anion. The η²–O,O–(COO⁻) coordination involving the syn conformer of the glycolato ligand, is the global minimum, while the η²–O(OH),O–(COO⁻) one lies at 1.5 and 5.6 kcal mol⁻¹ higher in energy at the B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p) and CCSD(T)/6-31G(d,p) levels of theory, respectively. The other conformer with an η²–O,O–(COO⁻) coordination involving the anti conformer of the glycolato ligand, is less stable by only 0.2 kcal mol⁻¹ at both levels of theory. Noteworthy is the trend seen for the incremental binding energy due to the successive addition of water molecules to HOCH₂C(O)O]Ca²⁺ species; the computed values are 30.4, 26.8, 22.9 and 16.2 kcal mol⁻¹ at the B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p) level of theory for the mono-, di-, tri- and tetraaqua complexes, respectively. This trend arising from the repulsion of the dipoles between the water ligands and from unfavorable many body interactions is in accordance with those anticipated from electrostatic considerations. The Ca(II)-water interaction weakens with increasing coordination of the metal. Obviously, it is the electrostatic nature of the Ca(II)-water interactions that accounts well for the computed coordination geometries of the cationic (aqua)(glycolato)calcium complexes. Calculated structures, relative stability and bonding properties of the conformers and their complexes with Ca(OH₂)_n]²⁺ (n=0–4) ions are discussed with respect to computed electronic and spectroscopic properties, such as charge density distribution, harmonic vibrational frequencies and NMR chemical shifts.