| 1. |
- Barata-Morgado, Rute, et al.
(författare)
-
Theoretical study of the conformational equilibrium of 1,4-dioxane in gas phase, neat liquid, and dilute aqueous solutions
- 2013
-
Ingår i: Theoretical Chemistry accounts. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1432-881X .- 1432-2234. ; 132:10, s. 1390-
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The conformational equilibrium of 1,4-dioxane in the gas phase, in the pure liquid, and in aqueous solution has been studied by means of the Average Solvent Electrostatic Potential from Molecular Dynamics (ASEP/MD) method and the Integral Equation Formalism for the Polarizable Continuum Model (IEF-PCM). The dioxane molecule was described at the DFT(B3LYP)/aug-cc-pVTZ level. In the three phases, the equilibrium is almost completely shifted toward the chair conformer, with populations of the twist-boat conformers lower than 0.01 %. The equilibrium is dominated by the internal energy of the molecule, as the solute-solvent interaction free energies are very similar in the three conformers considered (chair, 1,4 twist-boat, and 2,5 twist-boat). In the pure liquid, where the dioxane-dioxane interaction is dominated by the Lennard-Jones term, the structure is characteristic of a van der Waals liquid. However, the decrease in the C-H distance from gas phase to solution, the increase in the C-H vibrational frequencies, and the presence of a shoulder in the O-Haxial pair radial distribution function point to the presence of a weak C-H-O hydrogen bond. The analysis of the occupancy maps of water oxygen and hydrogen atoms around the 1,4-dioxane molecule confirms this conclusion. Contrary to what is found in small water-dioxane clusters, in the liquid, there is a preference for oxygen atoms to interact with axial hydrogen atoms to form C-H-O hydrogen bonds. Comparison of ASEP/MD and IEF-PCM results indicates that including specific interactions is very important for an adequate description of the solute-solvent interaction; however, the influence of these interactions does not translate in changes in the relative stability of the conformers because it cancels out when energy differences are calculated.
|
|
| 2. |
- Corchado, José C., et al.
(författare)
-
Theoretical Study of Solvent Effects on the Ground and Low-Lying Excited Free Energy Surfaces of a Push–Pull Substituted Azobenzene
- 2014
-
Ingår i: Journal of Physical Chemistry B. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1520-6106 .- 1520-5207. ; 118:43, s. 12518-12530
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The ground and low-lying excited free energy surfaces of 4-amino-4'-cyano azobenzene, a molecule that has been proposed as building block for chiroptical switches, are studied in gas phase and a variety of solvents (benzene, chloroform, acetone, and water). Solvent effects on the absorption and emission spectra and on the cistrans thermal and photo isomerizations are analyzed using two levels of calculation: TD-DFT and CASPT2/CASSCF. The solvent effects are introduced using a polarizable continuum model and a QM/MM method, which permits one to highlight the role played by specific interactions. We found that, in gas phase and in agreement with the results found for other azobenzenes, the thermal cistrans isomerization follows a rotation-assisted inversion mechanism where the inversion angle must reach values close to 180 degrees but where the rotation angle can take almost any value. On the contrary, in polar solvents the mechanism is controlled by the rotation of the CN=NC angle. The change in the mechanism is mainly related to a better solvation of the nitrogen atoms of the azo group in the rotational transition state. The photoisomerization follows a rotational pathway both in gas phase and in polar and nonpolar solvents. The solvent introduces only small modifications in the n pi* free energy surface (S-1), but it has a larger effect on the pi pi* surface (S-2) that, in polar solvents, gets closer to S-1. In fact, the S-2 band of the absorption spectrum is red-shifted 0.27 eV for the trans isomer and 0.17 eV for the cis. In the emission spectrum the trend is similar: only S-2 is appreciably affected by the solvent, but in this case a blue shift is found.
|
|
| 3. |
- Sanchez, M. Luz, et al.
(författare)
-
A new QM/MM method oriented to the study of ionic liquids
- 2015
-
Ingår i: Journal of Computational Chemistry. - : Wiley. - 0192-8651 .- 1096-987X. ; 36:25, s. 1893-1901
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The interest on room temperature ionic liquids has grown in the last decades because of their use as all-purpose solvent and their low environmental impact. In the present work, a new theoretical procedure is developed to study pure ionic liquids within the framework of the quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics method. Each type of ion (cation or anion) is considered as an independent entity quantum mechanically described that follows a differentiated path in the liquid. The method permits, through an iterative procedure, the full coupling between the polarized charge distribution of the ions and the liquid structure around them. The procedure has been tested with 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate. It was found that, similar to non-polar liquids and as a consequence of the low value of the reaction field, the cation and anion charge distributions are hardly polarized by the rest of molecules in the liquid. Their structure is characterized by an alternance between anion and cation shells as evidenced by the coincidence of the first maximum of the anion-anion and cation-cation radial distribution functions with the first minimum of the anion-cation. Some degree of stacking between the cations is also found.
|
|
