Three Empirical Correlations Connecting Gaseous Cluster Energies and Solvation Energies of Alkali Metal and Halide Ions

Abstract

This paper gives two empirical correlations of formation Gibbs energies of gaseous clusters DeltaG(f)n as function of number of solvent molecules attached to the ion, n, and one correlation connecting the DeltaG(f)n for each individual cluster with the total DeltaG(o)hydr value. The experimental ratios of DeltaG(f)2/DeltaG(f)1 and DeltaG(f)3/DeltaG(f)1 for both alkali metal and halide ions are on average equal to 0.75 and 0.5, respectively. DeltaG(f)n values for n > or = 4 are correlated with n as DeltaG(f)n = [a/(n - 1)] DeltaG(f)1 + b DeltaG(f)1. For all available data on cluster energies and each individual cluster, the DeltaG(f)n's are straight-line functions of DeltaG(o)hydr. This well corresponds to another empirical rule stating that the Gibbs energies of transfer of ions between two solvents are often as well straight-line functions of DeltaG(o)(hydr) [J. Rais and T. Okada, J. Phys. Chem. A, 2000, 104, 7314]. Tentative models of the found behavior are proposed. A full data set of the gaseous cluster energies of formation based on inclusion of new, usually not used entries from the literature is provided.