Vibrational and reorientational dynamics,crystal structure and solid–solid phase transition studies in [Ca(H2O)6]Cl2 supported by theoretical (DFT) calculations

Ca(H₂O)₆]Cl₂ between 93 and 300 K possesses two solid phases. One phase transition (PT) of the first‐order type at = 218.0 K (on heating) and = 208.0 K (on cooling) was determined by differential scanning calorimetry. Thermal hysteresis of this PT (10 K), as well as the heat flow anomaly sharpness, suggests that the detected PT is a first‐order one. The entropy change value ΔS ≈ 8.5 J mol⁻¹ K⁻¹ ≈ Rln(2.8)] associated with the observed PT suggests a moderate degree of molecular dynamical disorder of the high‐temperature phase. The temperature dependencies of the full width at half maximum values of the infrared band are due to ρ(H₂O)A₂ mode (at 205 cm⁻¹), and two Raman bands are arising from τ(H₂O)E and τ(H₂O)A₁ modes (at ca. 410 and 682 cm⁻¹, respectively), suggesting that the observed PT is associated with a sudden change of speed of the H₂O reorientational motions. The estimated mean value of activation energy for the reorientation of the H₂O ligands in the high‐temperature phase is ca. 11.4 kJ mol⁻¹ from Raman spectroscopy and 11.9 kJ mol⁻¹ from infrared spectroscopy. X‐ray single‐crystal diffraction measurement and spectroscopic studies (infrared, Raman and inelastic neutron scattering) also confirm that Ca(H₂O)₆]Cl₂ includes two sets of differently bonded H₂O molecules. Ab initio calculations of the complete unit cell of one molecule of calcium chloride with a different number of water molecules (2, 4 and 6) have also been carried out. A comparison of Fourier Transform Infrared (FT‐IR), Fourier Transform Raman Scattering (FT‐RS) and inelastic neutron scattering spectroscopies results with periodic density functional theory calculations was used to provide a complete assignment of the vibrational spectra of Ca(H₂O)₆]Cl₂. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.