Protonation enthalpies in fluorosulfonic acid usingab initio self-consistent reaction field theory

Abstract

Electrostatic solvation free energies were computed for several small neutral bases and their conjugate acids using a continuum solvation model called the self-consistent isodensity polarizable continuum model (SCIPCM). The solvation energies were computed at the restricted Hartree–Fock (RHF) and second-order Moller–Plesset (MP2) levels of theory, as well as with the Becke3–Lee–Yang–Parr (B3LYP) density functional theory, using the standard 6–31G** Gaussian basis set. The RHF solvation energies are similar to those computed at the correlated MP2 and B3LYP theoretical levels. A model for computing protonation enthalpies for neutral bases in fluorosulfonic acid solvent leads to the equation ΔH(B)=−PA(B)+ΔEt(BH+)−ΔEt(B)+β, where PA(B) is the gas phase proton affinity for base B, ΔEt(BH+) is the SCIPCM solvation energy for the conjugate acid, and ΔEt(B) is the solvation energy for the base. A fit to experimental values of ΔH(B) for 10 neutral bases (H2O, MeOH, Me2O, H2S, MeSH, Me2S, NH3, MeNH2, Me2NH, and PH3) gives β=238.4±2.9 kcal/mol when ΔΔEt is computed using the 0.0004 e⋅bohr−3 isodensity surface for defining the solute cavity at the RHF/6–31G** level. The model predicts that for carbon monoxide ΔH(CO)=10 kcal/mol. Thus, protonation of CO is endothermic, and the conjugate acid HCO+ (formyl cation) behaves as a strong acid in fluorosulfonic acid. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Comput Chem 19: 250–257, 1998