Proton mobility in water clusters

Proton mobility in water occurs quickly according to the so-called Grotthuss mechanism. This process and its elementary reaction steps can be studied in great detail by applying suitable mass spectrometric methods to ionic water clusters. Careful choice of suitable core ions in combination with analysis of cluster size trends in hydrogen/deuterium isotope exchange rates allows for detailed insights into fascinating dynamical systems. Analysis of the experiments has been promoted by extensive and systematic quantum chemical model calculations. Detailed low-energy mechanistic pathways for efficient water rearrangement and proton transfer steps, in particular cases along short preformed "wires" of hydrogen bonds, have been identified in consistency with experimental findings.     

Proton mobility in hydrates of inorganic acids and acid salts

Published data on the mechanisms of hydrogen ion transport in solids and aqueous solutions are described systematically, including defect formation, rotational mobility of proton-containing groups, proton hopping along a hydrogen bond, proton translational mobility, and proton conduction. Resorting to the authors" theoretical results and published data, the main criteria for the selection of systems possessing high proton mobility are formulated.     

Proton mobility in thin ice films: a revisit

We have examined proton transport through an ice film in the temperature range 73-140 K by initially adding hydronium ions into the interior of the film and then monitoring the build-up of hydronium ion population at the film surface. The result confirms that the proton exhibits limited mobility in the ice film at low temperature, but it becomes highly mobile at temperature above 130 K. Based on this result we suggest an explanation of the anomalous experimental observations in the literature for the proton mobility in ice films.     

Proton mobility and main fragmentation pathways of protonated lysylglycine

Theoretical model calculations were performed to validate the 'mobile proton' model for protonated lysylglycine (KG). Detailed scans carried out at various quantum chemical levels of the potential energy surface (PES) of protonated KG resulted in a large number of minima belonging to various protonation sites and conformers. Transition structures corresponding to proton transfer reactions between different protonation sites were determined, to obtain some energetic and structural insight into the atomic details of these processes. The rate coefficients of the proton transfer reactions between the isomers were calculated using the Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus (RRKM) method in order to obtain a quantitative measure of the time-scale of these processes. Our results clearly indicate that the added proton is less mobile for protonated KG than for peptides lacking a basic amino acid residue. However, the energy needed to reach the energetically less favorable but-from the point of view of backbone fragmentation-critical amide nitrogen protonation sites is available in tandem mass spectrometers operated under low-energy collision conditions. Using the results of our scan of the PES of protonated KG, the dissociation pathways corresponding to the main fragmentation channels for protonated KG were also determined. Such pathways include loss of ammonia and formation of a protonated alpha-amino-epsilon-caprolactam. The results of our theoretical modeling, which revealed all the atomic details of these processes, are in agreement with the available experimental results.     

Proton mobility in hydrated sulfonated polystyrene: NMR and impedance studies

Different ionomers were obtained by sulfonation of a commercial polystyrene (PS), using acetyl sulfate as reagent. The sulfonation was assessed by FTIR and XPS spectroscopies and the thermal and mechanical properties were deduced from DMA measurements. The acid form of the ionomers was characterized by means of ¹H and ¹³C MAS-NMR spectroscopies. Polymer hydration under controlled humidity atmosphere was analyzed by gravimetric, NMR and complex impedance techniques. In the hydrated state, two stages associated with formation of hydronium (H₃O⁺) species and proton hopping between adsorbed water molecules were deduced from NMR data. Both processes are responsible for important changes detected in mechanical properties and conductivity of sulfonated polymers during hydration processes.     

Proton transfer and coordination properties of aromatic α-hydroxy hydrazones

The prototropic properties of two nitro derivatives of aromatic α-hydroxy hydrazones [2,4-dinitro-N-phenyl-N′(2-hydroxy-1-phenylmethylene hydrazine) and 2,4-dinitro-N-phenyl-N′(2-hydroxy-1-naphthylmethylene hydrazine] have been analysed through electronic absorption, ¹H and ¹³C NMR and semiempirical molecular orbital methods. The metal binding properties of both compounds and of the unsubstituted hydrazones were evaluated from potentiometric and spectrophotometric data in dioxane-water mixtures. On the basis of the spectral analysis and PM3 semiempirical calculations, the structures of the formed complexes were proposed.     

Proton mobility in the solid inorganic hydrates of acids and acid salts

The method for the calculation of the proton-transfer frequency (n_t) and its activation energies (E_t) was suggested. Results of the calculations were presented. The experimental data on the activation energy of proton-containing group rotation and protonconductivity values for some hydrates of inorganic acids and acid salts were compared with the calculated ones.     

Proton activation analysis for chromium,nickel and copper

Proton activation analysis has been applied to develop a procedure for the simultaneous determination of chromium, nickel and copper. The procedure involves the bombardment of the sample with protons to induce⁵²Cr(p, n)^52mMn,⁶⁰Ni(p, n)⁶⁰Cu and⁶³Cu(p, n)⁶³Zn reactions. These reactions have been studied for proton energies from 11 MeV to 15 MeV. Thick target yields for the production of the indicator radionuclides as well as the sensitivities of the determination have been measured in this energy region and are compared with results obtained for other charged particle induced reactions. Detailed data are given on nuclear and instrumental interferences. The trace elements have been determined nondestructively and simultaneously in cobalt with a relative precision of 8 to 15%.     

Heteronuclear coordination compounds of copper and cobalt in urethane-yielding reactions

Heteronuclear coordination compounds capable of catalyzing the low-temperature dissociation of urethane groups were synthesized on the basis of copper and cobalt chlorides. The study was performed with an urethane prepolymer produced from oligoester diol and 2,4-toluylene diisocyanate. It was found that the dissociation of urethane groups in the prepolymer is accompanied by formation of carbodiimides and release of 2,4-toluylene diisocyanate. As a result of the subsequent redox interaction, Cu(II) ions are mostly converted to Cu(I), and the involvement of isocyanate groups in the para-position into the reaction processes leads to formation of azoaromatic derivatives. It is shown that their coordination binding by Co(II) ions strongly affects both the supramolecular organization of polyurethanes and a set of their physicomechanical properties.     

Proton mobility in protonated peptides: a joint molecular orbital and RRKM study

The mobile proton model was critically evaluated by using purely theoretical models which include quantum mechanical calculations to determine stationary points on the potential energy surface (PES) of a model compound, and Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus (RRKM) calculations to determine the rate constants of various processes (conformational changes, proton transfer reactions) which occur during mass analysis of protonated peptides. Extensive mapping of the PES of protonated N-formylglycinamide resulted in various minima which were stabilized by one or more of the following types of interaction: internal hydrogen bond, charge transfer interaction, charge delocalization, and ring formation. The relative energies of most of the investigated minima are less then 20 kcal mol(-1) compared with the most stable species. More importantly, the relative energies of the transition structures connecting these minima are fairly low, allowing facile transitions among the energetically low-lying species. It is demonstrated that a path can be found leading from the energetically most stable species, protonated on an amide oxygen, to the structure from which the energetically most favorable fragmentation occurs. It is also shown that the added proton can sample all protonation sites prior to fragmentation. The RRKM calculations applied the results of ab initio computations (structures, energetics, vibrational frequencies) to the reactions (internal rotations, proton transfers) occurring in protonated N-formylglycinamide, and clearly lend additional evidence to the mobile proton model. Based on the results of the PES search on protonated N-formylglycinamide, we also comment on the mechanism proposed by Arnot et al. (Arnot D, Kottmeier D, Yates N, Shabanowitz J, Hunt D F. 42(nd) ASMS Conference on Mass Spectrometry, 1994; 470) and Reid et al. (Reid G E, Simpson R J, O'Hair R A J. J. Am. Soc. Mass Spectrom. 1998; 9:945) for the formation of b(2)(+) ions. According to the high level ab initio results, the mechanism relying on amide oxygen protonated species seems to be less feasible than the one which involves N-protonated species.     

Hydrogen bonding and multiphonon structure in copper pyrazine coordination polymers

We report a systematic investigation of the temperature-dependent infrared vibrational spectra of a family of chemically related coordination polymer magnets based upon bridging bifluoride (HF(2)-) and terminal fluoride (F-) ligands in copper pyrazine complexes including Cu(HF(2))(pyz)(2)BF(4), Cu(HF(2))(pyz)(2)ClO(4), and CuF(2)(H(2)O)(2)(pyz). We compare our results with several one- and two-dimensional prototype materials including Cu(pyz)(NO(3))(2) and Cu(pyz)(2)(ClO(4))(2). Unusual low-temperature hydrogen bonding, local structural transitions associated with stronger low-temperature hydrogen bonding, and striking multiphonon effects that derive from coupling of an infrared-active fundamental with strong Raman-active modes of the pyrazine building-block molecule are observed. On the basis of the spectroscopic evidence, these interactions are ubiquitous to this family of coordination polymers and may work to stabilize long-range magnetic ordering at low temperature. Similar interactions are likely to be present in other molecule-based magnets.     

Compatibility studies on polyblends of PVC with chlororubber-20 and its graft polyblends by ultrasonics

Compatibilities of various PVC blends with chlororubber-20 and its graft polyblends have been studied on the basis of our previous findings. It has been found that chlororubber-20 makes compatible blends with PVC, while grafting of styrene, ethyl acrylate or acrylonitrile onto chlororubber-20 generates heterogeneity in their blends with PVC. The behaviour of these blends at the molecular level is reflected in the changes of ultrasonic velocity and absolute viscosity with composition.     

Proton mobility in protonated glycylglycine and N-formylglycylglycinamide: a combined quantum chemical and RKKM study

Theoretical model calculations were performed to investigate the degree of validity of the mobile proton model of protonated peptides. The structures and energies of the most important minima corresponding to different structural isomers of protonated diglycine and their conformers, as well as the barriers separating them, were determined by DFT calculations. The rate coefficients of the proton transfer reactions between the isomers were calculated using the RRKM method in order to obtain a quantitative measure of the time scale of these processes. The proton transfer reactions were found to be very fast already at and above the threshold to the lowest energy decomposition pathway. Two possible mechanisms of b2+-ion formation via water loss from the dipeptide are also discussed. The rate-determining step of the proton migration along a peptide chain is also investigated using the model compound N-formylglycylglycinamide. The investigations revealed that this process very possibly occurs via the protonation of the carbonyl oxygens of the amide bonds, and its rate-determining step is an internal rotation-type transition of the protonated C=O-H group between two adjacent C=O-HellipsisO=C bridges.     

Interactions and mobility of copper(II)-imidazole-containing copolymers

Poly(1-vinylimidazole-co-methyl methacrylate) copolymers (PVM) were obtained from copolymerization of 1-vinylimidazole and methyl methacrylate with 2,2^′-azobisisobutyronitrile as an initiator. The formation of random copolymers was substantiated by the glass transition temperature (T_g) and the proton spin-lattice relaxation time in the rotating frame (T^H_1ρ). Cu(II)-PVM complexes were prepared by mixing tetrahydrofuran solution of PVM and copper sulfate solution. The formation of coordination bond between PVM and Cu²⁺ ions was studied using differential scanning calorimetry, infrared and ¹³C solid-stated nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. A single composition dependent T_g was obtained for the PVM copolymers, and that increased with increasing VI content. The T_g value of the Cu(II)-PVM complex was much higher than that of the PVM copolymer with the same composition. The T^H_1ρ of the VI units and MMA units in the copolymers and complexes had one value, and that in the complexes was much lower than that in the copolymers. The dramatic decrease in T^H_1ρ for the Cu(II)-PVM complexes was due to Cu(II) complexation and electron-nuclear dipolar interactions.     

Organic-inorganic hybrids constructed by Anderson-type polyoxoanions and copper coordination complexes

Four organic-inorganic hybrid compounds based on Anderson-type polyoxoanions, namely, {[Cu(2,2′-bpy)(H₂O)₃]₂[Cr(OH)₆Mo₆O₁₈]}{[Cu(2,2′-bpy)(H₂O)Cl][Cu(2,2′-bpy)(H₂O)(NO₃)][Cr(OH)₆Mo₆O₁₈]}·18H₂O (1), [Cu(2,2′-bpy)(H₂O)₂Cl]{[Cu(2,2′-bpy)(H₂O)₂][Cr(OH)₆Mo₆O₁₈]}·4H₂O (2), (H₃O){[Cu(2,2′-bpy)(H₂O)₂]₂[Cu(2,2′-bpy)(H₂O)]₂}[Cr(OH)₆Mo₆O₁₈]₃·36H₂O (3), and (H₃O){[Cu(2,2′-bpy)(H₂O)₂]₂[Cu(2,2′-bpy)(H₂O)]₂}[Al(OH)₆Mo₆O₁₈]₃·33H₂O (4), were isolated by conventional solution method, and crystal structures have been determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Among them, compound 1 displays a discrete supramolecular structure, compound 2 shows a chainlike structure with chloro-copper complexes as counteranions, and compounds 3 and 4 are isomorphic and exhibit unique 3D open frameworks with lattice water molecules residing in the channels. The compounds 3 and 4 represent the first example of 3D organic-inorganic hybrid compounds in the TMs/2,2′-bpy/POMs system. Investigation of the reaction conditions reveals that the geometry and size of the anions together with its coordinating abilities to the metal centers have a decisive influence on both the composition and the dimensionality of the final compounds.     

Crystal structure and thermochemical reactivity of an unusual copper complex that contains copper in four different coordination geometries

According to X-ray single-crystal structure analysis, {[Cu(II)(en)2]2[Cu(I)2(CN)6]}[Cu(II)(en)2]2[Cu(I)(CN)3]2.2H2O contains copper in four different coordination environments: trigonal planar, square planar, square pyramidal and tetrahedral. The different coordination geometries of copper were investigated by quantum chemical calculations of model compounds, thus allowing to tentatively assign the different CN-bands in the IR spectrum. The thermolysis led to sub-microm sized rod-like copper(II) oxide particles.     

Crystal-driven distortion of ligands in copper coordination complexes: conformational pseudo-enantiomers

The ligand in [Cu(6)CH3CN]-(ClO4)2 adopts two conformations that may be described as "pseudo-enantiomers" in that they possess approximately mirror-image molecular helicity, although they differ in the orientation of a single methyl substituent. The two conformations differ in energy as judged by analogy to other compounds studied previously, computation of the relative free energies of formation of the isomers, and measurement of solution circular dichroism spectra. The solid-state structures of both single enantiomer and racemic forms of the complex were determined by X-ray crystallography. In the chiral complex, a quasi-racemate was observed with both pseudo-enantiomeric conformers present in the asymmetric unit. Packing forces induce a higher energy conformation in order to achieve higher apparent symmetry in the solid state. In contrast, the racemic complex only displayed a single conformation corresponding to the lower energy one of the two observed in the single enantiomer structure.     

Syntheses and properties of two chiral multidentate carboxylate copper coordination compounds

A chiral ligand, (R)-2-(4-(carboxymethoxy)phenoxy)propanoic acid, is employed as building block to construct two chiral coordination compounds, [Cu(L)(bipy)(H₂O)] (1) and [Cu₂(L)₂(phen)₄(H₂O)₁₃] (2), by the solvent-thermal method and the volatilization method, respectively. The compounds are characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD), IR spectra, XRD, TGA, and circular dichroism spectra. Compound 1 is comprised of right-handed helical chains and 2 shows a separated structure, both of which extend to 3-D supramolecular framework by hydrogen bonds and π?···?π interactions. CD indicates both compounds retain original stereo character with strong fluorescence at room temperature.