No abstract

The binding energy of the naphthalene(+•)(benzene) heterodimer cation has been determined to be 7.9 ± 1 kcal/mol for C10H8(+•)(C6H6) and 8.1 ± 1 kcal/mol for C10H8(+•)(C6D6) by equilibrium thermochemical measurements using the mass-selected drift cell technique. A second benzene molecule binds to the C10H8(+•)(C6D6) dimer with essentially the same energy (8.4 ± 1 kcal/mol), suggesting that the two benzene molecules are stacked on opposite sides of the naphthalene cation in the (C6D6)C10H8(+•)(C6D6) heterotrimer. The lowest-energy isomers of the C10H8(+•)(C6D6) and (C6D6)C10H8(+•)(C6D6) dimer and trimer calculated using the M11/cc-pVTZ method have parallel stacked structures with enthalpies of binding (-ΔH°) of 8.4 and 9.0 kcal/mol, respectively, in excellent agreement with the experimental values. The stacked face-to-face class of isomers is calculated to have substantial charge-transfer stabilization of about 45% of the total interaction energy despite the large difference between the ionization energies of benzene and naphthalene. Similarly, significant delocalization of the positive charge is found among all three fragments of the (C6D6)C10H8(+•)(C6D6) heterotrimer, thus leaving only 46% of the total charge on the central naphthalene moiety. This unexpectedly high charge-transfer component results in activating two benzene molecules in the naphthalene(+•)(benzene)2 heterotrimer cation to associate with a third benzene molecule at 219 K to form a benzene trimer cation and a neutral naphthalene molecule. The global minimum of the C10H8(+•)(C6H6)2 heterotrimer is found to be the one where the naphthalene cation is sandwiched between two benzene molecules. It is remarkable, and rather unusual, that the binding energy of the second benzene molecule is essentially the same as that of the first. This is attributed to the enhanced charge-transfer interaction in the stacked trimer radical cation.

Radical organic ions can be stabilized by complexation with neutral organics via interactions that can resemble chemical bonds, but with much diminished bond energies. Those interactions are a key factor in cluster growth and polymerization reactions in ionizing environments such as regions of the interstellar medium and solar nebulae. Such radical cation complexes between naphthalene (Naph) and pyridine (Pyr) are characterized using mass-selected ion mobility experiments. The measured enthalpy of binding of the Naph(Pyr) heterodimer (20.9 kcal/mol) exceeds that of the Naph(Naph) homodimer (17.8 kcal/mol). The addition of 1-3 more pyridine molecules to the Naph(Pyr) heterodimer gives 10-11 kcal/mol increments in binding enthalpy. A rich array of Naph(Pyr) isomers are characterized by electronic structure calculations. The calculated Boltzmann distribution at 400 K yields an enthalpy of binding in reasonable agreement with experiment. The global minimum is a distonic cation formed by Pyr attack on Naph at the α-carbon, changing its hybridization from sp to distorted sp. The measured collision cross section in helium for the Naph(Pyr) heterodimer of 84.9 ± 2.5 Å at 302 K agrees well with calculated angle-averaged cross sections (83.9-85.1 Å at 302 K) of the lowest energy distonic structures. A remarkable 16 kcal/mol increase in the binding energy between Naph(Pyr) and Bz(Pyr) (Bz is benzene) is understood by energy decomposition analysis. A similar increase in binding from Naph(NH) to Naph(Pyr) (as well as between Bz(NH) and Bz(Pyr)) is likewise rationalized.

Halogen bonding (XB) non-covalent interactions can be observed in compounds containing chlorine, bromine, or iodine which can form directed close contacts of the type R1-XY-R2, where the halogen X acts as a Lewis acid and Y can be any electron donor moiety including electron lone pairs on hetero atoms such as O and N, or π electrons in olefin double bonds and aromatic conjugated systems. In this work, we present the first evidence for the formation of ionic halogen bonds (IXBs) in the hydration of bromobenzene and iodobenzene radical cations in the gas phase. We present a combined thermochemical investigation using the mass-selected ion mobility (MSIM) technique and density functional theory (DFT) calculations of the stepwise hydration of the fluoro, chloro, bromo, and iodobenzene radical cations. The binding energy associated with the formation of an IXB in the hydration of the iodobenzene cation (11.2 kcal mol) is about 20% higher than the typical unconventional ionic hydrogen bond (IHB) of the CHOH interaction. The formation of an IXB in the hydration of the iodobenzene cation involves a significant entropy loss (29 cal mol K) resulting from the formation of a more ordered structure and a highly directional interaction between the oxygen lone pair of electrons of water and the electropositive region around the iodine atom of the iodobenzene cation. In comparison, the hydration of the fluorobenzene and chlorobenzene cations where IHBs are formed, -ΔS° = 18-21 cal mol K consistent with the formation of less ordered structures and loose interactions. The electrostatic potentials on the lowest energy structures of the hydrated halogenated benzene radical cations show clearly that the formation of an IXB is driven by a positively charged σ-hole on the external side of the halogen atom X along the C-X bond axis. The size of the σ-hole increases significantly in bromobenzene and iodobenzene radical cations which results in strong interaction potentials with the electron lone pairs of the oxygen atom of the water molecules and thus IXBs provide the most stable hydrated structures of the bromobenzene and iodobenzene radical cations. The results clearly distinguish the hydration behaviors resulting from the ionic hydrogen and halogen bonding interactions of fluorobenzene and iodobenzene cations, respectively, and establish the different bonding and structural features of the two interactions.