Kosmotropic and chaotropic behavior of hydrated ions in aqueous solutions in terms of expansibility and compressibility parameters

Hydrated ions have fundamental applications in chemical and biological processes. Kosmotropic and chaotropic nature of hydrated ions affect the water structure in solutions depending upon their hydrophobicity or hydrophilicity nature. In present study Kosmotropic and chaotropic behavior of hydrated ions have been explained in terms of volumetric and acoustic parameters like apparent molar volume (V_ϕ), expansibility and compressibility factors for aqueous electrolytic solutions provide useful information about interactions among ions and water molecules. Results of V_ϕ showed that SO₄²⁻ ions due to stronger H-bonding with water molecules are termed as kosmotropes while Cl⁻ and HCO₃^– are chaotropes due to their weaker H-bonding with water molecules. More compressible structure of solutions in the presence of SO₄²⁻ ions indicated its kosmotropic behavior and comparatively less compressible structure of solutions in the presence of Cl⁻¹ and HCO₃^– ions renders them chaotropes. Results obtained from expansibility factor showed the dominance of electrostatic interactions over hydrophobic hydration of ions at higher temperatures. Greater values of expansibility factor for SO₄²⁻ ions as compared to Cl⁻¹ and HCO₃^– ions renders them kosmotropic ion while later are termed as chaotropes. Hence, thermo-acoustic parameters could be effectively used to describe the hydrogen bonding character of ionic solutions in terms of kosmotropic and chaotropic behavior of solutions.     

Ions at interfaces: the central role of hydration and hydrophobicity

It is increasingly being accepted that solvation properties of ions and interfaces (hydration of ions, hydrophobic or hydrophilic character of interfaces) play a fundamental role in ion-surface interaction in water. However, a fundamental understanding of the precise role of solvation in ionic specificity in colloidal systems is still missing, although important progress has been made over the last years. We present in this contribution experimental evidences (including also ions not usually included in specific ion studies) together with Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations that highlight the importance of the hydration of ions and surfaces in order to understand the origin of ionic specificity. We first show that both surface polarity and ion hydration determine the sorting of ions according to their ability to induce specific effects (the so-called Hofmeister series). We extend these classical series by considering the addition of the inorganic anions IO₃⁻, BrO₃⁻ and ClO₃⁻, which present unusual properties as compared with the ions considered in classical Hofmeister series. We also consider big hydrophobic organic ions such as tetraphenylborate anion (Ph₄B⁻) and tetraphenylarsonium cation (Ph₄As⁺) that in the context of the Hofmeister series behave as super-chaotropes ions.     

Cooperativity and Anticooperativity in Ion-Water Interactions: Implications for the Aqueous Solvation of Ions

Non-additive effects in hydrogen bonds (HB) take place as a consequence of electronic charge transfers. Therefore, it is natural to expect cooperativity and anticooperativity in ion-water interactions. Nevertheless, investigations on this matter are scarce. This paper addresses the interactions of (i) the cations Li⁺, Na⁺, K⁺, Be²⁺, Mg²⁺, and Ca²⁺ together with (ii) the anions F⁻, Cl⁻, Br⁻, NO₃⁻ and SO₄²⁻ with water clusters (H₂O)_n, n=1–8, and the effects of these ions on the HBs within the complete molecular adducts. We used quantum chemical topology tools, specifically the quantum theory of atoms in molecules and the interacting quantum atoms energy partition to investigate non-additive effects among the interactions studied herein. Our results show a decrease on the interaction energy between ions and the first neighbouring water molecules with an increment of the coordination number. We also found strong cooperative effects in the interplay between HBs and ion-dipole interactions within the studied systems. Such cooperativity affects considerably the interactions among ions with their first and second solvation shells in aqueous environments. Overall, we believe this article provides valuable information about how ion-dipole contacts interact with each other and how they relate to other interactions, such as HBs, in the framework of non-additive effects in aqueous media.     

A study of salt effects on the complexation between β-cyclodextrins and bile salts based on the Hofmeister series

The Hofmeister series is the ranking of ions according to their ability to strengthen (kosmotropic ions) or weaken (chaotropic ions) hydrophobic interactions. Such ions are therefore expected to affect the strength of cyclodextrin (CD) inclusion complexes and may thereby affect the release of CD bound drug molecules. The influence of Hofmeister ions on the binding constants of complexes between CDs (β-CD and hydroxypropylated β-CD) and bile salts (glycocholate and glycochenodeoxycholate) were examined by isothermal titration calorimetry. The chaotropic anions tended to weaken these inclusion complexes. Conversely, kosmotropic ions increased the binding strength and this effect scaled with the buried hydrophobic surface area. Both effects are relatively weak at physiological ion concentrations and may be neglected for most pharmaceutical purposes.     

Face-Fusion of Icosahedral Boron Hydride Increases Affinity to γ-Cyclodextrin: closo,closo-[B21H18]− as an Anion with Very Low Free Energy of Dehydration

The supramolecular recognition of closo,closo-[B₂₁H₁₈]⁻ by cyclodextrins (CDs) has been studied in aqueous solution by isothermal titration calorimetry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. These solution studies follow up on previous mass-spectrometric measurements and computations, which indicated the formation and stability of CD ⋅ B₂₁H₁₈⁻ complexes in the gas phase. The thermodynamic signature of solution-phase binding is exceptional, the association constant for the γ-CD complex with B₂₁H₁₈⁻ reaches 1.8×10⁶ M⁻¹, which is on the same order of magnitude as the so far highest observed value for the complex between γ-CD and a metallacarborane. The nature of the intermolecular interaction is also examined by quantum-mechanical computational protocols. These suggest that the desolvation penalty, which is particularly low for the B₂₁H₁₈⁻ anion, is the decisive factor for its high binding strength. The results further suggest that the elliptical macropolyhedral boron hydride is another example of a CD binder, whose extraordinary binding affinity is driven by the chaotropic effect, which describes the intrinsic affinity of large polarizable and weakly solvated chaotropic anions to hydrophobic cavities and surfaces in aqueous solution.     

Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Balance and Its Effect on Mesophase Behaviour in Hydroxyalkyl Ethers of Methyl Glucopyranoside

Four series of monosubstituted methyl α‐D ‐glucopyranoside hydroxyalkyl ethers were prepared and their thermotropic and lyotropic self‐organising properties were investigated in terms of the hydrophobic–hydrophilic balance with respect to their molecular structures. The results obtained lead us to a new understanding of the forces that drive the formation of condensed soft‐matter phases.     

Salt Effects in the Cononsolvency of Poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) Microgels

Poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) is well known to exhibit reentrant behavior or cononsolvency in response to the composition of a mixed solvent consisting of water and a low‐chain alcohol. Since the solvent structure plays an important role in this phenomenon, the presence of structure‐breaking/structure‐making ions in solution is expected to have a dramatic effect on the cononsolvency of PNIPAM. The present work examines the way that the presence of different salts can modify the reentrant‐phase diagram displayed by a cationic PNIPAM microgel in the mixed ethanol/water solvent. The effects of four Hofmeister anions—SO₄^2?_, Cl^?, NO₃^? and SCN^?—with different abilities to modify the solvent structure are analyzed. The species with kosmotropic or structure‐making character show a clear competition with ethanol for the water molecules, intensifying the nonsolvency of the PNIPAM with the EtOH volume fraction (?_e). However, striking results are found with the most chaotropic or structure‐breaking anion, SCN^?. In contrast to what happens in water‐rich solutions, the presence of SCN^? in alcohol‐rich solvents enhances the solubility of the polymer, which macroscopically results in the microgel swelling. Moreover, this ion displays great stabilizing properties when ?_e> is 0.2. These results have been explained by considering how chaotropic or structure‐breaking ions interact with water and ethanol molecules.     

Low-voltage thin-layer electrophoresis of inorganic anions on silica gel-G and titanium (IV) tungstate layers: separation of coexisting F−, Cl−, Br− and I−, I−, IO3− and IO4−, Fe(CN)64− and Fe(CN)63−

The electrophoretic behavior of twenty anions has been studied on silica gel-G, titanium (IV) tungstate and silica gel-G- titanium (IV) tungstate admixture layers using 0.1 M solutions of oxalic acid, citric acid, tartaric acid, succinic acid and acetic acid as background electrolyte. The mechanism of migration is explained in terms of adsorption and the solubility of various sodium or potassium salts of the anions in water. Titanium (IV) tungstate behaves only as an adsorbent and not as an ion exchanger. Being a cation exchanger, there is no exchange phenomenon occurring with anions. The migration of halides increase linearly with an increase in the bare ion radii of these ions. Differential migration of the anions on silica gel-G layers led to binary, ternary and quaternary separations of similar anions such as F⁻ – Cl⁻ – Br⁻ – I⁻, I⁻ – IO₃⁻ – IO₄⁻, BrO₃⁻ – IO₃⁻ and Fe(CN)₆³⁻ – Fe(CN)₆⁴⁻. The two cyanoferrate ions are separated from industrial waste water and from fixer and bleach solutions. The migration of anions has also been found to be in accordance with their lyotropic numbers.

     

The ion–lipid battle for hydration water and interfacial sites at soft-matter interfaces

At charged surfaces “bound” ions reduce the repulsive electrostatic forces, while dissociated ions control the osmotic pressure in colloidal systems. For systems charged through ionic adsorption on the other hand, the adsorbed ions determine the charging boundary condition and colloidal interactions. Soft-matter interfaces have considerable flexibility and compressibility, hence ionic adsorption at such interfaces may generate new phenomena when (a) the ions compete with the lipid or polymeric components for water of hydration, or (b) position themselves at the polar–nonpolar interface and modify its structure. We review some recent advances on the understanding of specific ion effects from this perspective, and provide some unpublished illustrative examples involving soft flexible interfaces. We propose an extension of the chaotropic series to include disruptors of soft matter, which may act as cosurfactants or even as hydrotropes. We also examine the effects of coordinating ligands on specific ion adsorption at soft interfaces, using lanthanides as test cations, and discuss how such effects may be used to change the affinities between ions and interfaces in controlled ways.     

Dynamical Dimension to the Hofmeister Series: Insights from First‐Principles Simulations

A systematic characterization of the competing kosmotropic and chaotropic effects of a series of divalent salts on the aqueous H‐bonding structure by means of first‐principles molecular dynamics simulations is presented. The structural properties are quantified by means of experimental and computed ¹H NMR chemical shifts, whereby the local environments of cations and anions can be discriminated. Complementary to the well‐established structural features, a dynamical aspect is added to the concept of kosmotropes and chaotropes. The H‐bond dynamics, quantified in terms of the H‐bonding autocorrelation functions, shows a good correlation with the structural kosmotropic and chaotropic modifications, which are commonly referred to as the Hofmeister series. The considerably enhanced (reduced) fluctuations of the H‐bonding network in the hydration shells around the anions (cations) are a complementary dynamical dimension to the concept of kosmotropic/chaotropic behavior of solvated ions.     

Lyotropic smectic layering of side-on polysoaps in water

 The synthesis and characterization of lyotropic smectic amphiphilic side-on polymers are described. The amphiphile consists of a rigid, aromatic core with two terminal ethyleneoxide chains of various lengths and is laterally attached to a polysiloxane backbone; the length of the spacer has also been varied. The phase behavior of the monomeric amphiphiles and side-on polymers are determined by polarizing microscopy and ²H-NMR measurements. In water, most of the low molecular weight surfactants show restricted lyotropic properties, namely lyotropic smectic phases. The packing restriction of the amphiphiles is due to their geometric anisometry. All side-on polymers exhibit only lyotropic smectic phases. The phase regime of the polymer mesophase with respect to the monomers depends on the spacer length. In contrast to surfactants having a flexible hydrophobic group, these amphiphiles align spontaneously parallel to an external magnetic field, leading to perfect lyotropic smectic monodomains. Received: 21 May 2001 Accepted: 27 August 2001     

Effect of salt on the inter- and intramolecular hydrophobic interactions of macromolecules

The effect of salt on the structure of a low density lipoprotein (LDL) and on the reversible polymerization of bovine serum albumin (BSA) reduced with 2-mercaptoethanol was investigated by means of ultracentrifugal analysis. The chaotropic anion, e.g., SCN^– and I^–, at 5M completely disrupted the LDL structure and effectively dissociated BSA oligomers at lower concentrations. The parallelism between the anion order of these effects and that of the chaotropic effect suggested that the observed salt effects are primarily based on the disruption of hydrophobic interactions. The cation effectiveness disrupting the LDL structure followed the order of their promoting effect on the water structure, i.e., Li⁺>Na⁺>K⁺>Cs⁺. However, Cs⁺ was most effective in dissociating BSA oligomers, and this was attributed to the -complex formation with the aromatic amino acid side chains which otherwise contribute to the promotion of the intermolecular hydrophobic association.     

Ion-chromatographic measurements of ammonium,fluoride, acetate,formate and methanesulphonate ions at very low levels in antarctic ice

Ion chromatography is used to determine the concentrations of organic (formate, acetate and methanesulphonate) and inorganic (fluoride and ammonium) ions present in Antarctic ice at less than 10⁻⁹ g g⁻¹ levels. With suitable columns, the simultaneous measurement of these ions requires only 6 min. A sample volume of 5 ml is sufficient to reach the 10⁻¹⁰ g g⁻¹ level. The determination of such low concentrations requires stringent contamination-free techniques. For formate and acetate, the samples should never come into contact with plastics. Except for methanesulphonate, all the ions studied can be produced by dissolution of the various gaseous compounds present in a polluted atmosphere. Therefore a glass device with pure nitrogen circulation was designed for air-free melting of samples. To prevent possible biological activity on organic matter, samples were analysed immediately after melting. Measurements of ammonium ion in these Antarctic ice samples demonstrate that the problem of contamination by surrounding ammonia was not completely eliminated in previous studies. The serious contamination problems encountered, particularly for carboxylic acids, cast doubt on some earlier results for remote areas.     

Ion‐Specific Aggregation of Hydrophobic Particles

This work shows that colloidal stability and aggregation kinetics of hydrophobic polystyrene (PS) nanospheres are extremely sensitive to the nature of the salt used to coagulate them. Three PS latices and four aggregating electrolytes, which all share the same cation (Na⁺) but have various anions located at different positions in the classical Hofmeister series depending on their kosmotropic or chaotropic character, are used. The present study focuses on analyzing different aggregating parameters, such as critical coagulation concentrations (CCC), cluster size distributions (CSD), initial kinetic constants K₁₁, and fractal dimensions of the aggregates d_f. While aggregation induced by SO₄^2? and Cl^? behaved according to the predictions of the classical Derjaguin–Landau–Verwey–Overbeek theory, important discrepancies are found with NO₃^?, which become dramatic when using SCN^?. These discrepancies among the anions were far more significant when they acted as counterions rather than as co‐ions. While SO₄^2? and Cl^? trigger fast diffusion‐limited aggregation, SCN^? gives rise to a stationary cluster size distribution in a few aggregation times when working with cationic PS particles. Clear differences are found among all analyzed parameters (CCC, CSD, K₁₁, and d_f), and the experimental findings show that particles aggregate in potential wells whose depth is controlled by the chaotropic character of the anion. This paper presents new experimental evidence that may help to understand the microscopic origin of Hofmeister effects, as the observations are consistent with appealing theoretical models developed in the last few years.     

Stabilization of CCl4− radical anions in glassy matrices at low temperatures

Optical spectrophotometry has been used to investigate the product of electron addition to CCl₄ in solvents of different nature. It is shown that in “rigid” matrices (η > 10¹⁹ P) CCl₄⁻ radical anions are formed, whereas in a “soft” environment (η < 10¹⁹ P) CCl₄⁻ undergoes dissociation into CCl₃ radicals and Cl⁻ ions. The possible reasons for stabilization of the CCl₄⁻ radical anions in solid media are discussed.     

Evidence for stepwise processes in the charge reversal of negative ions

Various processes during the charge reversal of the simple negative ions OH⁻, Cl^−·₂, CN⁻ and C₂H⁻ have been revealed by application of a voltage to the collision cell in the second field-free region of a VG Micromass ZAB-2F mass spectrometer. It is shown for all these ions that the two-electron stripping process required for charge reversal can take place not only in one step, but also in two steps. Moreover, for the Cl^−·₂ ions, it has been found that they can fragment to Cl⁻ ions prior to the two-electron stripping process. In the charge reversal of the OH⁻ and CN⁻ ions, some processes have been found which strongly indicate that even a one-step three-electron stripping is possible in addition to a stepwise process of two- and one-electron stripping. Many of the electron stripping processes are accompanied at some stage by fragmentation.     

Nonionic Dendritic and Carbohydrate Based Amphiphiles: Self‐Assembly and Transport Behavior

Herein, a new series of non‐ionic dendritic and carbohydrate based amphiphiles is synthesized employing biocompatible starting materials and studied for supramolecular aggregate formation in aqueous solution. The dendritic amphiphiles 12 and 13 possessing poly(glycerol) [G2.0] as hydrophilic unit and C‐10 and C‐18 hydrophobic alkyl chains, respectively, exhibit low critical aggregation concentration (CAC) in the order of 10⁻⁵m and hydrodynamic diameters in the 8–10 nm range and supplemented by cryogenic transmission electron microscopy. Ultraviolet‐visible (UV‐Vis) and fluorescence spectroscopy suggests the effective solubilization of hydrophobic guests by the self‐assembled architectures, with the nanotransporters 12 and 13 possessing the highest encapsulation efficiency of 80.74 and 98.03% for curcumin. Efficient uptake of encapsulated curcumin in adenocarcinomic human alveolar basal epithelial (A549) cells is observed by confocal laser scanning microscopy. Amphiphiles 12 and 13 are non‐cytotoxic at the concentrations studied, however, curcumin encapsulated samples efficiently reduce the viability of A549 cells in vitro. Experimental studies indicate the ability of amphiphile 13 to encapsulate 1‐anilinonaphthalene‐8‐sulfonic acid (ANS) and curcumin with binding constant of 1.16 × 105⁵m ⁻¹ and 1.43 × 10⁶m ⁻¹, respectively. Overall, our findings demonstrate the potential of these dendritic amphiphiles for the development of prospective nanocarriers for the solubilization of hydrophobic drugs.     

Interaction of monovalent ions with hydrophobic and hydrophilic colloids: charge inversion and ionic specificity

Here we study experimentally and by simulations the interaction of monovalent organic and inorganic anions with hydrophobic and hydrophilic colloids. In the case of hydrophobic colloids, our experiments show that charge inversion is induced by chaotropic inorganic monovalent ions but it is not induced by kosmotropic inorganic anions. For organic anions, giant charge inversion is observed at very low electrolyte concentrations. In addition, charge inversion disappears for both organic and inorganic ions when turning to hydrophilic colloids. These results provide an experimental evidence for the hydrophobic effect as the driving force for both ion specific effects and charge inversion. In the case of organic anions, our molecular dynamics (MD) simulations with full atomic detail show explicitly how the large adsorption free energies found for hydrophobic colloids are transformed into large repulsive barriers for hydrophilic colloids. Simulations confirm that solvation free energy (and hence the hydrophobic effect) is responsible for the build up of a Stern layer of adsorbed ions and charge inversion in hydrophobic colloids and it is also the mechanism preventing charge inversion in hydrophilic colloids. Overall, our experimental and simulation results suggest that the interaction of monovalent ions with interfaces is dominated by solvation thermodynamics, that is, the chaotropic/kosmotropic character of ions and the hydrophobic/hydrophilic character of surfaces.     

Natural Soft/Rigid Superlattices as Anodes for High-Performance Lithium-Ion Batteries

Volume expansion and poor conductivity are two major obstacles that hinder the pursuit of the lithium-ion batteries with long cycling life and high power density. Herein, we highlight a misfit compound PbNbS₃ with a soft/rigid superlattice structure, confirmed by scanning tunneling microscopy and electrochemical characterization, as a promising anode material for high performance lithium-ion batteries with optimized capacity, stability, and conductivity. The soft PbS sublayers primarily react with lithium, endowing capacity and preventing decomposition of the superlattice structure, while the rigid NbS₂ sublayers support the skeleton and enhance the migration of electrons and lithium ions, as a result leading to a specific capacity of 710 mAh g⁻¹ at 100 mA g⁻¹, which is 1.6 times of NbS₂ and 3.9 times of PbS. Our finding reveals the competitive strategy of soft/rigid structure in lithium-ion batteries and broadens the horizons of single-phase anode material design.     

Polymerization of the 12-methacryloyloxydodecanoic acid and a corresponding phospholipid in monolayers at the liquid/gas interfaces

The following surface-active monomers with methacrylic group at the end of hydrophobic tail: 12-methacryloyloxydodecanoic acid (12-MAODA) and 12-(methacryloyloxydodecanoyl)-glycerophosphatidylcholine 12-MAODPC) were synthesized and investigated. Both monomers are forming monolayers at the liquid/gas interfaces with liquid-expanded and liquid-condensed states at low and high surface pressures, respectively. These monomers have been polymerized in the monolayers just by soft UV-irradiation (254 nm). Dependences of polymerization rate vs. surface pressure for both monomers have maxima (3.33^*10⁻⁴ s⁻¹ for 12-MAODPC and 4.89^*10⁻⁴ s⁻¹ for 12-MAODA) at about 8–10 mN/m. The higher polymerization rate of 12-MAODA polymerization as compared to 12-MAODPC is due to the more dense packing of the acid molecules in monolayers as compared to the lipid. Areas per monomer unit in the obtained polymeric monolayers are much smaller than those for the monomer one. The collapse pressures increase after monomer polymerization that evidences the increase of the monolayer stability in case of polymer as compared to monomer.