Electronic Structure Insights into the Solvation of Magnesium Ions with Cyclic and Acyclic Carbonates |
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Authors: | Mehdi Shakourian‐Fard Dr Ganesh Kamath Subramanian K R S Sankaranarayanan |
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Institution: | 1. Department of Chemistry, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO, USA;2. Center for Nanoscale Materials, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL, USA |
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Abstract: | A computational framework to rank the solvation behavior of Mg2+ in carbonates by using molecular dynamics simulations and density functional theory is reported. Based on the binding energies and enthalpies of solvation calculated at the M06‐2X/6‐311++G(d,p) level of theory and the free energies of solvation from ABF‐MD simulations, we find that ethylene carbonate (EC) and the ethylene carbonate:propylene carbonate (EC:PC) binary mixture are the best carbonate solvents for interacting with Mg2+. Natural bond orbital and quantum theory of atoms in molecules analyses support the thermochemistry calculations with the highest values of charge transfer, perturbative stabilization energies, electron densities, and Wiberg bond indices being observed in the Mg2+(EC) and Mg2+(EC:PC) complexes. The plots of the noncovalent interactions indicate that those responsible for the formation of Mg2+ carbonate complexes are strong‐to‐weak attractive interactions, depending on the regions that are interacting. Finally, density of state calculations indicate that the interactions between Mg2+ and the carbonate solvents affects the HOMO and LUMO states of all carbonate solvents and moves them to more negative energy values. |
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Keywords: | computational chemistry electrochemistry electrolytes energy storage solvation free energy |
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