Effect of hydrogen bonding on the infrared absorption intensity of OH stretch vibrations

Abstract

We consider how the infrared intensity of a hydrogen-bonded OH stretch varies from weak to strong H-bonds using a theoretical model. We obtain trends for the fundamental and overtone transition intensities as a function of the donor–acceptor distance, a common measure of H-bond strength. Building upon our earlier work using a two-diabatic state model, we introduce a Mecke function-based dipole moment for the H-bond and calculate transition moments using one-dimensional vibrational eigenstates along the H-atom transfer coordinate. The fundamental intensity is found to be over 20-fold enhanced for strong H-bonds, where non-Condon effects are significant. We analyse isotope effects, including the secondary geometric isotope effect. The first overtone intensity varies non-monotonically with H-bond strength; suppression occurs for weak bonds but strong enhancements are possible for strong H-bonds. We also study how these trends are affected by Mecke parameter variations. For a few specific dimers, we compare our results with earlier works.