The arrangement of first- and second-shell water molecules in trivalent aluminum complexes: results from density functional theory and structural crystallography

The structural and energetic features of a variety of gas-phase aluminum ion hydrates containing up to 18 water molecules have been studied computationally using density functional theory. Comparisons are made with experimental data from neutron diffraction studies of aluminum-containing crystal structures listed in the Cambridge Structural Database. Computational studies indicate that the hexahydrated structure Al[H(2)O](6)(3+) (with symmetry T(h)()), in which all six water molecules are located in the innermost coordination shell, is lower in energy than that of Al[H(2)O](5)(3+).[H(2)O], where only five water molecules are in the inner shell and one water molecule is in the second shell. The analogous complex with four water molecules in the inner shell and two in the outer shell undergoes spontaneous proton transfer during the optimization to give [Al[H(2)O](2)[OH](2)](+).[H(3)O(+)](2), which is lower in energy than Al[H(2)O](6)(3+); this finding of H(3)O(+) is consistent with the acidity of concentrated Al(3+) solutions. Since, however, Al[H(2)O](6)(3+) is detected in solutions of Al(3+), additional water molecules are presumed to stabilize the hexa-aquo Al(3+) cation. Three models of a trivalent aluminum ion complex surrounded by a total of 18 water molecules arranged in a first shell containing 6 water molecules and a second shell of 12 water molecules are discussed. We find that a model with S(6) symmetry for which the Al[H(2)O](6)(3+) unit remains essentially octahedral and participates in an integrated hydrogen bonded network with the 12 outer-shell water molecules is lowest in energy. Interactions between the 12 second-shell water molecules and the trivalent aluminum ion in Al[H(2)O](6)(3+) do not appear to be sufficiently strong to orient the dipole moments of these second-shell water molecules toward the Al(3+) ion.     

Hydrogen bonding incis-2,3-epoxycyclooctanol

Hydrogen bonding and the electron-withdrawing or electron-donating characteristics of substituent groups that are neighboring to epoxide groups can affect the reactivity of the epoxide ring. The crystal structure ofcis-2,3-epoxycyclooctanol has been determined as a saturated eight-membered ring compound in which a hydroxyl group is attached to the C(1) atom that is adjacent to a 2,3-fused epoxy ring. The findings are that the longer epoxide C-O bond (and hence the one expected to be more readily broken) is the one farther from the hydroxyl group [1.462(1) å versus 1.447(1) å] and that the optimal hydrogen bonding is to an adjacent molecule radier than within the molecule. The shortest C-C bond is that of the epoxide group; the bond adjacent to it (on the side farther from the hydroxyl group) is the next shortest.     

The Arrangement of First- and Second-shell Water Molecules Around Metal Ions: Effects of Charge and Size

Structural features of clusters involving a metal ion (Li⁺, Na⁺, Be²⁺, Mg²⁺, Zn²⁺, Al³⁺, or Ti⁴⁺) surrounded by a total of 18 water molecules arranged in two or more shells have been studied using density functional theory. Effects of the size and charge of each metal ion on the organization of the surrounding water molecules are compared to those found for a Mg[H₂O]₆²⁺• [H₂O]₁₂ cluster that has the lowest known energy on the Mg²⁺• [H₂O]₁₈ potential energy surface (Markham et al. in J Phys Chem B 106:5118–5134, 2002). The corresponding clusters with Zn²⁺ or Al³⁺ have similar structures. In contrast to this, clusters with a monovalent Li⁺ or Na⁺ ion, or with a very small Be²⁺ ion, differ in their hydrogen-bonding patterns and the coordination number can decrease to four. The tetravalent Ti⁴⁺ ionizes one inner-shell water molecule to a hydroxyl group leaving a Ti⁴⁺(H₂O)₅ (OH⁻) core, and an H₃O⁺• • • H₂O moiety dissociates from the second shell of water molecules. These observations highlight the influence of cation size and charge on the local structure of hydrated ions, the high-charge cations causing chemical changes and the low-charge cations being less efficient in maintaining the local order of water molecules. Electronic Supplementary Material: Supplementary material is available for this article at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/S00214-005-0056-2.