Ion-pair Clusters Research Articles

Networks of ion-pairs are responsible for the large differences in the thermal stability of two structurally similar aminopeptidases.

Aminopeptidases are an important class of enzymes for protein metabolism. Leucyl aminopeptidase (PepL) preferably removes leucine from the N-terminus of small peptides. PepL of Lacticaseibacillus casei was observed to be thermally unstable, while a structurally similar aminopeptidase T (AmpT) of Thermus thermophilus is highly stable. To understand the molecular interaction responsible for the large difference in their stability, molecular dynamics simulations were carried out to study the thermal stability of PepL and AmpT at 300 K to 450 K temperature range over 100 ns. PepL sampled a larger conformational space with a rugged free-energy landscape, while AmpT navigated a smoother energy landscape to reach the global minimum. The RMSD, RMSF, radius of gyration and principal component analysis suggested large movements in PepL than in AmpT with an increase in temperature. Analysis of residue-interaction network revealed AmpT possessing a greater number of low, medium and high energy contacts in comparison to PepL. AmpT showed a higher abundance of ion-pair clusters and ionic residues per cluster compared to PepL. Moreover, AmpT retained a greater number of high-energy contacts at elevated temperatures. These findings showed that the inherently lower stability of PepL originates from a comparatively smaller number of contacts and can be pivotal in engineering PepL for higher stability.

Effect of succinonitrile on the structural, ion conductivity, and dielectric properties of PVDF‐HFP based solid polymer electrolytes

AbstractA detailed account of the poly(vinylidene difluoride‐co‐hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF‐HFP)/succinonitrile (SN)/lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI) based solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) of various compositions is reported. SN is incorporated as plasticizer, while LiTFSI is employed as the source of lithium ions. Fourier transfer infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy reveals the formation of polar and electroactive γ crystal phase by PVDF in pristine PVDF‐HFP and the prepared SPE films. FTIR further confirms the interaction between the host polymer and the salt and between the salt and the plasticizer. The interaction between the salt and plasticizer suggests that SN not only offers the plasticization effect but also facilitates salt dissociation. The ion conductivity increases with increasing salt content up to 20 wt% but beyond that concentration a decline in ion conductivity is observed, which could be attributed to the ion pair association or cluster formation due to the excess salt concentration that reduces the availability of free ions and ultimately leads to the reduction in ion conductivity. After including SN in the SPE formulation, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy reveals a substantial increase in room temperature ion conductivity of the SPE from ~1.08 × 10−5 S cm−1 for pristine SPE with 20 wt% salt to ~2.7 × 10−4 S cm−1 for plasticized SPE with 40 wt% SN and 20 wt% salt. This is attributed to the plasticizing effect of SN that enhances ion mobility through the matrix and to the increased charge carrier concentration (SN facilities salt dissociation). The fabricated SPEs exhibit a significant enhancement in ion conductivity with increasing temperature and the maximum ion conductivity of 1.1 × 10−3 S cm−1 is attained at 393 K by plasticized SPE with 40 wt% SN content. The ion conductivity of all the prepared SPEs follows the temperature dependent Arrhenius behavior, suggesting the thermally activated ion hopping mechanism of ionic conduction. Further, the plasticized SPEs display near unity ion transference number indicating the predominance of the ionic mode of conduction. The dielectric and electric modulus analysis reveal a faster relaxation phenomenon and hence higher ion conductivity of the prepared SPEs with increasing salt and plasticizer content.

Density functional theory study of physisorption of ionic liquid pairs on hydroxylated and oxygen terminated α-SiO2 (001) surfaces

In this work, we investigate the ion pair tetramethylphosphonium cation, [P1,1,1,1]+, and bis(oxalato)borate anion, [BOB]−, as a model system for the study of ionic liquids interacting with both hydroxylated and oxygen terminated α-SiO2 (001) surfaces, using first-principles electronic structure theory. We use a single ionic pair and clusters of ion pairs, in order to have exclusively neutral supercell slab models. We use dispersion-corrected density functional theory (DFT) to ascertain that both the strong physical binding between the ions, dominated by ionic binding, and the weaker physical binding of ions to the different surfaces are correctly described. We have found that the binding of ion pairs is stronger to the hydroxylated α-SiO2 (001) surface compared to the oxygen terminated surface, which is attributed to the formation of H-binding with the oxygen atom(s) of the [BOB]− anion. Through rotation of ionic pair(s), we estimate the surface-ions energy barrier for translational movement and, thus, the strength of H-binding of the ions. At the surface of hydroxylated α-SiO2 (001), we have studied how water molecules form a network of H-binding with the OH groups of the surface and the [BOB]− anion, which offers an explanation for the reduction in the friction of ionic liquids on the inclusion of water. We suggest modeling protocols for simulation of ion pairs on surfaces, which can open up the possibility to use DFT to aid in designing and understanding the physicochemical mechanism of interactions of ionic materials (including ionic liquids) in various technological applications.

Analysis of two overlapping fragmentation approaches in density matrix construction: GMBE-DM vs. ADMA.

In this study, we conduct a comparative analysis of two density matrix construction methods: the generalized many-body expansion for building density matrices (GMBE-DM) based on the set-theoretical principle of inclusion/exclusion and the adjustable density matrix assembler (ADMA) based on the Mulliken-Mezey ansatz. We apply these methods to various noncovalent clusters, including water clusters, ion-water clusters, and ion-pair clusters, using both small 6-31G(d) and large def2-TZVPPD basis sets. Our findings reveal that the GMBE-DM method, particularly when combined with the purification scheme and truncation at the one-body level [GMBE(1)-DM-P], exhibits superior performance across all test systems and basis sets. In contrast, all ADMA set of methods show reasonable results only with small and compact basis sets. For example, GMBE(1)-DM-P outperforms the best ADMA method by at least 4 and 16 times with small and large basis sets, respectively, in the case of (H2O)N=6-55. This highlights the significance of the basis set choice for ADMA, which is even more critical than the fragmentation scheme, such as the size of subsystems, while GMBE-DM consistently produces accurate results irrespective of the chosen basis set. Consequently, the efficient and robust GMBE(1)-DM-P approach is recommended as a fragmentation method for generating accurate absolute and relative energies across different binding patterns and basis sets for noncovalent clusters.

An accurate and efficient fragmentation approach via the generalized many-body expansion for density matrices.

With relevant chemical space growing larger and larger by the day, the ability to extend computational tractability over that larger space is of paramount importance in virtually all fields of science. The solution we aim to provide here for this issue is in the form of the generalized many-body expansion for building density matrices (GMBE-DM) based on the set-theoretical derivation with overlapping fragments, through which the energy can be obtained by a single Fock build. In combination with the purification scheme and the truncation at the one-body level, the DM-based GMBE(1)-DM-P approach shows both highly accurate absolute and relative energies for medium-to-large size water clusters with about an order of magnitude better than the corresponding energy-based GMBE(1) scheme. Simultaneously, GMBE(1)-DM-P is about an order of magnitude faster than the previously proposed MBE-DM scheme [F. Ballesteros and K. U. Lao, J. Chem. Theory Comput. 18, 179 (2022)] and is even faster than a supersystem calculation without significant parallelization to rescue the fragmentation method. For even more challenging systems including ion-water and ion-pair clusters, GMBE(1)-DM-P also performs about 3 and 30 times better than the energy-based GMBE(1) approach, respectively. In addition, this work provides the first overlapping fragmentation algorithm with a robust and effective binning scheme implemented internally in a popular quantum chemistry software package. Thus, GMBE(1)-DM-P opens a new door to accurately and efficiently describe noncovalent clusters using quantum mechanics.

Ion pair and larger ion cluster formation in water interfacial regions: An atomic force microscopy study

Interfacial regions attached to hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces have very low relative permittivities (ε ∼ 3–5), and these low values induce the formation of ion pairs. A detailed description of ion pairing will be possible only after the development of adequate experimental probing methods. The scheme described in this work detects the ion pair (or multistage ion association) formation in water solutions in the interfacial region. Forces acting on the tip when immersed in the interfacial region attached to hydrophilic substrates, such as mica where ε < 7, are attractive (AFM tip dielectric constant = 7). These attractive force steps with extensions equal or smaller than the Bjerrum length at hydrophilic substrates are associated with ion pair formation in interfacial regions. Measurements show that the interfacial water molecular arrangement and ion pairs form an ordered structure (ε < 7) induced by mica interfacial charges. The interfacial region attached to hydrophobic substrates, however, form separated arrangements of ion pairs and water molecular structures as observed by the repulsive steps (ε > 7) intercalated in between attractive regions (ε < 7).

Superbasicity of imines with bicyclo[5.1.0]octa-1,3,5,7-tetraene scaffold due to electron delocalization in the conjugated acids

Gas phase basicity of organic superbases with bicyclo[5.1.0]octa-1,3,5,7-tetraene (fused cyclopropene and cycloheptatriene) scaffold and an imine group as proton acceptor site was computationally assessed using B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) method. The basicity of these imines originates from the electron delocalization and consequently delocalization of the positive charge upon protonation leading to stability of the conjugated acid. Also, the effects of different electron donating groups (EDGs) and hydrogen bond formation on the basicity enhancement were studied. The calculated PAs were 1000–1307 kJ mol−1 indicating superbasicity and hyperbasicity of the studied organic bases. These organic bases can deprotonate H2SO4 and FHSO4 in the gas phase and produce stable ion pair clusters.

Construction of ion bonds in gel-free polydiene-based ionomers without compromising molecular weight

Rubber-based ionomers have attracted extensive research interest from academy and industry attributing to their distinct physical mechanical properties. However, currently reported approaches to performing polar modification on common tire rubber (such as natural rubber and butadiene rubber) typically demonstrate high gel fraction or low molecular weight. Herein, we prepared a gel-free rubber-based ionomer by the first epoxidation to elastomeric polymers and subsequent olefin metathesis reaction, which showed no degradation of molecular weight. Meanwhile, to investigate the reaction mechanism of epoxidation and olefin metathesis, high vinyl polybutadiene rubber (HVBR) with multi-site reactive units was used as the matrix. Experimental results showed that the incorporation of epoxy groups could effectively reduce the degradation of HVBR matrix caused by the olefin metathesis. The formation of multiple ion pair and ion cluster structures could significantly enhance the mechanical strength and damping properties of HVBR-based ionomers. And the dynamic measurements indicated that the increased skidding resistance and reduced rolling resistance of HVBR-based ionomers were also realized. It was acknowledged as a considerable challenge to simultaneously enhance these properties. The strategy developed here suggests a feasible pathway toward high-performance “green” tires with low noise, superior comfort and excellent auto-braking performance.

A Series of Discrete Dichloride Dihydrates: Characterisation and Symmetry Effects.

A series of three discrete dichloride dihydrates [Cl2 (H2 O)2 ]2- have been isolated with different triaminocyclopropenium (TAC) cations and with different crystallographic symmetries. The cluster exhibits D2h symmetry with the tris(dimethylamino)cyclopropenium cation [C3 (NMe2 )3 ]+ , C2h symmetry with the fluorinated cation [C3 (N(CH2 CF3 )2 )(NBu2 )2 ]+ (containing two 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl substituents) and C2v symmetry with the more fluorinated [C3 (N(CH2 CF3 )2 )2 (NBu2 )]+ cation. The effect of symmetry on the infrared spectra of the dichloride ion-pair clusters, as well as deuterated analogues, has been investigated. The D2h - and C2h -symmetric clusters each exhibit two stretching bands in the infrared at 3427 and 3368 cm-1 for D2h symmetry and 3444 and 3392 cm-1 for C2h symmetry, whereas the C2v -symmetric cluster exhibits three bands at 3475, 3426 and 3373 cm-1 . Computational studies were carried out on a [Cl2 (H2 O)2 ]2- cluster with C2v symmetry to aid the infrared band assignments.

A Systematic Study of DFT Performance for Geometry Optimizations of Ionic Liquid Clusters.

Clusters of two ion pairs of imidazolium-based ionic liquids were optimized with 43 different levels of theory, including DFT functionals and MP2-based methods combined with varying Dunning's basis sets, and added dispersion corrections. Better preforming DFT functionals were then applied to clusters consisting of four ion pairs. Excellent performance of some DFT functionals for the two ion pair clusters did not always match that of the four ion-paired clusters despite interionic distances remaining constant between the optimized two and four ion-paired clusters of the same ionic liquid. Combinations of DFT functional and basis set such as ωB97X-D/cc-pVDZ, M06-2X/aug-cc-pVDZ, B3LYP-D3/cc-pVTZ, and TPSS-D3/cc-pVTZ gave excellent results for geometry optimization of two ion-paired clusters of imidazolium ionic liquids but gave larger deviations when applied to the four ion-paired clusters of varying ionic liquids. Empirical dispersion corrections were seen to be crucial in correctly capturing correlation effects in the studied ionic liquid clusters, becoming more important in larger clusters. Dunning's double-ζ basis set, cc-pVDZ, is associated with the smallest root mean squared deviations for geometries; however, it also produces the largest deviations in total electronic energies. ωB97X-D and M06-2X produced the best performance with the augmented version of this basis set. The triple-ζ basis set, cc-pVTZ, leads to the best performance of most of the DFT functionals (especially the dispersion-corrected ones) used, whereas its augmented version, aug-cc-pVTZ, was not seen to improve results. The combinations of functional and basis set that gave the best geometry and energetics in both two and four ion-paired clusters were PBE-D3/cc-pVTZ, ωB97X-D/aug-cc-pVDZ, and BLYP-D3/cc-pVTZ. All three combinations are recommended for geometry optimizations of larger clusters of ionic liquids. PBE-D3/cc-pVTZ performed the best with an average deviation of 2.3 kJ mol-1 and a standard deviation of 3.4 kJ mol-1 for total electronic energy when applied to four ion-paired clusters. Geometries optimized with FMO2-SRS-MP2/cc-pVTZ produced total energy within 2.0 kJ mol-1 off the benchmark in two ion-paired clusters, with the cc-pVDZ basis set performing unsurprisingly poorly with the same method. The error increased to 4.8 kJ mol-1 on average in four ion-paired clusters, with the smallest RMSD deviations in geometries when compared to the benchmark ones. This study is the first report that investigated the performance of DFT functionals for two and four ion-paired clusters of a wide range of ionic liquids consisting of commonly used cations such as pyrrolidinium, imidazolium, pyridinium, and ammonium. It also identified the importance of assessing the performance of quantum chemical methods for ionic liquids on a variety of cation-anion combinations.

A Discrete Dichloride Tetrahydrate Trapped by a Cyclopropenium Cation: Structure and Spectroscopic Properties.

A discrete dichloride tetrahydrate cluster, [Cl2 (H2 O)4 ]2- , was obtained as a salt of the bis(diphenylamino)diethylamino cyclopropenium cation [C3 (NPh2 )2 (NEt2 )]+ and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy. This chloride-chloride ion-pair cluster consists of a [Cl2 (H2 O)2 ]2- square with opposite edges bridged by water molecules to give a chair-like structure of the non-hydrogen atoms. The solid-state structure is essentially the same as the calculated gas-phase structure. Infrared spectra were also collected on the deuterium analogue [Cl2 (D2 O)4 ]2- . Computational studies were carried out on gas-phase [Cl2 (H2 O)4 ]2- to confirm the infrared band assignments in the solid state. The structure and infrared spectrum are consistent with the discrete nature of the cluster.

Dynamics of Water Molecules and Ions in Concentrated Lithium Chloride Solutions Probed with Ultrafast 2D IR Spectroscopy.

Water and ion dynamics in concentrated LiCl solutions were studied using ultrafast 2D IR spectroscopy with the methyl thiocyanate (MeSCN) CN stretch as the vibrational probe. The IR absorption spectrum of MeSCN has two peaks, one peak for water associated with the nitrogen lone pair of MeSCN (W) and the other peak corresponding to Li+ associated with the lone pair (L). To extract the spectral diffusion (structural dynamics) of W and L species, we developed a method that isolates the peak of interest by subtracting the 2D Gaussian proxies of multiple interfering peaks. Center line slope data (normalized frequency-frequency correlation function) for 2D bands from the W and L are fit with triexponential functions. The fastest component (1.1-1.6 ps) is assigned to local hydrogen bond length fluctuations. The intermediate timescale (∼4.0 ps) corresponds to the hydrogen bond network rearrangement. The slowest component decays in ∼40 ps and corresponds to ion pair and ion cluster dynamics. The very similar W and L spectral diffusion indicates that the motions of the water and ions are strongly coupled. Orientational relaxations of the W and L species were extracted using a new method to eliminate the effects of overlapping peaks. The results show that MeSCN bound to water undergoes orientational relaxation significantly faster than MeSCN bound to Li+. The orientational and spectral diffusion results are compared. A Stark coupling model is used to extract the root mean square average electric field caused by the ion clouds along the CN moiety as a function of concentration.

A density functional theory study on the superacidity of sulfuric, fluorosulfuric, and triflic acid derivatives with two cyclopentadiene rings: ion pairs formation in the gas phase

AbstractThe gas phase acidity of organosulfuric acid derivatives with two cyclopentadiene rings replacing the doubly‐bonded oxygen atoms was computationally assessed using the B3LYP DFT functional and 6–311++G(d,p) basis set. Introduced five‐membered rings increased the acidity through the delocalization of the excess negative charge in conjugates bases and by providing positions to accommodate electron withdrawing substituents such as F and CN. The calculated enthalpies of deprotonation (∆Hacid) of polycyanated systems were as low as 227.8 to 263.2 kcal mol–1 indicating exceptional superacidity. Substitution of one OH moiety by F or CF3 groups offered additional acidifying effect by preventing prototropic tautomerism in the neutral acids that acts towards lowering the acidity. The designed systems spontaneously protonated H2O and NH3 in the gas phase and produced stable ion pair clusters.

Insight into the structure and interaction properties of 1-propylnitrile-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide and chloroform mixtures

In this work, the structure and interaction properties of the mixtures of a task specific ionic liquid (TSIL) 1-propylnitrile-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([PCNMIM][Tf2N]) and chloroform (CDCl3) were elucidated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Excess infrared spectroscopy was applied to analyse the original infrared spectra. The main conclusions are: (1) stable hydrogen-bonding complexes are found in the mixtures, and they are the primary cause of the gradual shift of v(CH) of the [PCNMIM]+ cation. The hydrogen-bonds related to the aromatic CH are strengthened, while those related to the alkyl CH are weakened by the addition of CDCl3. (2) A number of species in the binary mixtures were identified, namely, ion cluster–CDCl3, ion pair–CDCl3, ion pair and ion cluster. CDCl3 cannot break apart the strong electronic interaction between [PCNMIM]+ and [Tf2N]− but can break apart the ion cluster into ion pair throughout the investigated concentration range. (3) Several hydrogen-bonds are identified in the ion cluster–CDCl3, ion pair–CDCl3, ion pair and ion cluster complexes. They are weak strength, closed shell and electrostatic dominant interactions. In addition, the hydrogen atom at the C2 site of the [PCNMIM]+ cation is the preferred interaction site.

Cluster Formation through Hydrogen Bond Bridges across Chloride Anions in a Hydroxyl-Functionalized Ionic Liquid.

Several recent studies of hydroxyl-functionalized ionic liquids (ILs) have shown that cation-cation interactions can be dominating these materials at the molecular level when the anion involved is weakly interacting. The hydrogen bonds between the like ions led to the formation of interesting chain-like, ring-like, or distinct dimeric (i. e. two ion pairs) supermolecular clusters. In the present work, vibrational spectroscopy (ATR-IR and Raman) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations of the hydroxyl-functionalized imidazolium ionic liquid C2 OHmimCl indicate that anion-cation hydrogen bonding interactions are dominating, leading to the formation of distinct dimeric ion pair clusters. In this arrangement, the Cl- anions function as a bridge between the cations by establishing bifurcated hydrogen bonds with the OH group of one cation and the C(2)-H of another cation. Cation-cation interactions, on the other hand, do not play a significant role in the observed clusters.

Clusters of the Ionic Liquid 1-Hydroxyethyl-3-methylimidazolium Picrate: From Theoretical Prediction in the Gas Phase to Experimental Evidence in the Solid State.

Interonic interactions determine the macroscopic properties of ionic liquids (ILs). Hence, unravelling the relationships between the microscopic and macroscopic scales is key for rational design. Combining density functional theory (DFT) calculations of isolated ion pairs and vibrational spectroscopy of the condensed phase (fluid or solid) has become a very common approach. In the present work, we make a step towards understanding how the physicochemical effects in small gas phase clusters of a hydroxyl functionalized imidazolium-picrate IL relate with the molecular structure and interactions of the corresponding solid material taking 1-hydroxyethyl-3-methylimidazolium picrate, C2 OHmimPic, as an example. In the isolated ion pair, strong alkyl-OH⋅⋅⋅Pic hydrogen bonding interactions are found rather than the commonly observed hydrogen bonding interactions at the slightly acidic C(2)-H site of the imidazolium ring. However, this part of the cation plays an important role when clusters of ion pairs in the gas phase and inside a crystal lattice are considered. For example, in the dimeric ion-pair cluster, one centre (O*) with two interaction sites (C(2)-H-O* and alkyl OH-Pic) is observed. This configuration is suggested by single crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD), vibrational spectroscopy, and the dispersion-corrected DFT calculations. Hence, the study provides evidence for the appearance of theoretical gas phase clusters in an actual solidified ionic liquid. This ion pair dimer formation may be a general behavior of hydroxyl functionalized imidazolium ILs, but further research is needed to draw a final conclusion. Moreover, the Raman spectra confirm the exclusive gauche conformation of the hyroxyl functionalized alkyl chain.

Cluster approach to the prediction of thermodynamic and transport properties of ionic liquids.

The prediction of physicochemical properties of ionic liquids such as conductivity and melting point would substantially aid the targeted design of ionic liquids for specific applications ranging from solvents for extraction of valuable chemicals to biowaste to electrolytes in alternative energy devices. The previously published study connecting the interaction energies of single ion pairs (1 IP) of ionic liquids to their thermodynamic and transport properties has been extended to larger systems consisting of two ion pairs (2 IPs), in which many-body and same-ion interactions are included. Routinely used cations, of the imidazolium and pyrrolidinium families, were selected in the study coupled with chloride, tetrafluoroborate, and dicyanamide. Their two ion pair clusters were subjected to extensive configuration screening to establish most stable structures. Interaction energies of these clusters were calculated at the spin-ratio scaled MP2 (SRS-MP2) level for the correlation interaction energy, and a newly developed scaled Hartree-Fock method for the rest of energetic contributions to interaction energy. A full geometry screening for each cation-anion combination resulted in 192 unique structures, whose stability was assessed using two criteria-widely used interaction energy and total electronic energy. Furthermore, the ratio of interaction energy to its dispersion component was correlated with experimentally observed melting points in 64 energetically favourable structures. These systems were also used to test the correlation of the dispersion contribution to interaction energy with measured conductivity.

Predicting the Ionic Product of Water

We present a first-principles calculation and mechanistic characterization of the ion product of liquid water (KW), based on Quantum Cluster Equilibrium (QCE) theory with a variety of ab initio and density functional methods. The QCE method is based on T-dependent Boltzmann weighting of different-sized clusters and consequently enables the observation of thermodynamically less favored and therefore low populated species such as hydronium and hydroxide ions in water. We find that common quantum chemical methods achieve semi-quantitative accuracy in predicting KW and its T-dependence. Dominant ion-pair water clusters of the QCE equilibrium distribution are found to exhibit stable 2-coordinate buttress-type motifs, all with maximally Grotthus-ordered H-bond patterns that successfully prevent recombination of hydronium and hydroxide ions at 3-coordinate bridgehead sites. We employ standard quantum chemistry techniques to describe kinetic and mechanistic aspects of ion-pair formation, and we obtain NBO-based bonding indices to characterize other electronic, structural, spectroscopic, and reactive properties of cluster-mediated ionic dissociation.

Toluidine blue-sodium lauryl ether sulfate complexes: Influence of ethylene oxide length

Sodium Lauryl Ether Sulfates (SLES) are an increasingly important and versatile type of surfactants. The complexation between ortho-Toluidine blue (TBO) and a homologous series of SLES, including Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SDS) without Ethylene Oxide (EO), has been investigated using visible spectrophotometry. Upon increasing the molar surfactant-dye-ratio (S/D), three TBO organization regimes can be identified from the absorption spectra: (i) Ion-pair formation, (ii) Pre-micellar aggregation and (iii) Micellar aggregation. The limited solubility of SDS-TBO ion pairs, leading to precipitation of ion-pair clusters, causes a decrease of the TBO monomeric peak height when S/D is increased. The better solvability of TBO-SLES ion-pairs causes the onset of precipitation to occur at higher S/D when the EO-block length increases. In an intermediate S/D range, metachromasy is observed as a result of dye-stacking onto the SDS arranged in a pre-micellar state at surfactant concentrations well below the critical micelle concentration (CMC). For SDS, the S/D range showing pre-micelles depends on TBO concentration but seems independent of variation of ionic strength (phosphate buffer, pH = 7.0, Cbuffer = 0.1–10 mM), whereas the metachromatic peak height increases with decreasing ionic strength. The pre-micellar region for all SLES-TBO is located at the same S/D range but the maximum metachromatic peak height follows the trend: EO2 > EO4 > SDS > EO12 ≈ EO30. The onset of the micellar range, in which TBO is again present in monomeric form, is shown to coincide with the CMC. These findings could proof helpful in either formulation or analysis of SLES. Likewise, understanding the dyes' interactions may facilitate formulation of dyeing solutions for optimal performance, or alternatively, as part of the textile plant effluent treatment to remove, and possibly recycle, dyes.

Ab initio and density functional theory (DFT) studies on triflic acid with water and protonated water clusters.

The structure, stability and infrared spectral signatures of triflic acid (TA) with water clusters (Wn) and protonated water clusters (TAH+Wn, n = 1 - 6) were computed using DFT and MP2 methods. Our calculations show that a minimum of three water molecules are necessary to stabilize the dissociated zwitterionic form of TA. It can be seen from the results that there is no significant movement of protons in smaller (n = 1 and 2) and linear (n = 1 - 6) types of water clusters. Further, the geometries of TAWn clusters first form a neutral pair (NP) to contact ion pair (CIP), then form a solvent separated ion pair (SSIP) in a water hexamer. These findings reveal that proton transfer may take place through NP to CIP and then CIP to SSIP. The calculated binding energies (BEs) of ion pair clusters is always higher than that of NP clusters (i.e., more stable than the NP). Existing excess proton linear chain clusters transfer a proton to adjacent water molecules via a Grotthuss mechanism, whereas the same isomers in the branched motifs do not conduct protons. Examination of geometrical parameters and infrared frequencies reveals hydronium ion (H3O+ also called Eigen cation) formation in both TAWn and protonated TAWn clusters. The stability of Eigen water clusters is three times higher than that of other non-Eigen water clusters. Our study shows clearly that formation of ion pairs in TAWn and TAH+Wn clusters greatly favors proton transfer to neighboring water molecules and also enhances the stability of these complexes.