Solvation effects on the structure and reactivity of clusters

Abstract

Elucidating, from a molecular point of view, the differences and similarities in the properties and reactivity of matter in the gaseous compared to the condensed state is a subject of considerable current interest. Although there are a number of promising approaches to this problem, one of the alternatives involves the use of clusters that enable detailed spectroscopy and reactivity investigations to be accomplished as a function of degree of solvation under well controlled conditions. New insight into a variety of phenomena of interest in liquids have been derived from recent studies in our laboratory. In particular, the findings have contributed to unraveling the reactions of ionized functional groups in organic molecules that are influenced by solvation effects, identifying the structure of protonated complexes among species of varying proton affinities, and quantifying the variations in spectroscopic properties of chromophores as influenced by solvation and aggregation. Various examples from the author's laboratory are discussed, including solvation-driven reactions as well as alcohol and acetone dehydration reactions, the influence of clustering on the reaction of OH− with CO2, structures of protonated species comprised of water, ammonia, and trimethylamine; also presented are the results of studies of the influence of solvation on the absorption of photons in the chromophore of tyrosine, namely phenol.