Water Cages Research Articles

Recovering Natural Gas from Gas Hydrates using Horizontal Wellbore

Natural gas is a fossil fuel with the lowest carbon footprint. In nature, an enormous amount of natural gas exists as natural gas hydrates (NGH) – an ice-like solid compound composed of natural gas enclosed within crystalline water cages. However, due to the complexity of physical events that occur simultaneously during hydrate dissociation in sediments (e.g. multiphase transport through porous media), the current understanding on the gas and water production behavior from hydrate bearing sediment is still limited. To better elucidate the simultaneous gas/water production from hydrates, we developed an experimental setup capable of acquiring the kinetics of gas and water production and compared the production behavior between “no-well” and “horizontal wellbore” configurations. Hydrate bearing sands of ~40% hydrate saturation and > 50% aqueous saturation were formed to mimic oceanic hydrate reservoir. Under the same production pressure (4.0 MPa) and temperature (281.5 K), significant difference were observed in gas and water production – the horizontal well prolonged gas production and reduced water production. In the end of production stage, the cumulative gas production increased by 15.7% from 23.05 standard liter (SL) to 26.66 SL; whereas water production reduced by 54.7% from 196.1 mL to 88.9 mL. Our finding presents the opportunity to improve gas production and simultaneously mitigate water production through the tuning the borehole design parameters.

Ostwald ripening changes the pore habit and spatial variability of clathrate hydrate

Clathrate hydrate is a solid crystalline compound that consists of water cages with trapped gas molecules. Methane hydrate in permafrost and marine sediments is estimated to contain 2 × 103 to 4 × 106 Gt of carbon, which makes it both a potential energy source and a liability to global warming. The transport and mechanical properties of hydrate bearing sediments (HBS), and therefore hydrate dissociation through depressurization, thermal stimulation, or CO2 injection, depend on hydrate pore habit and spatial distribution in sediments. However, the evolution of hydrate pore habit and spatial distribution in HBS are not well understood yet. Here we show experimental evidence of Ostwald ripening of gas hydrate crystals in pores and porous media. We find that (1) hydrate growth rate (under nearly isothermal conditions) versus the degree of overpressurization fits an Arrhenius-type equation, and (2) Ostwald ripening gradually changes hydrate pore habit from grain-attaching to pore-filling and increases hydrate saturation heterogeneity at both pore and core scales. The latter ultimately creates significant spatial variations of permeability and sediment strength. Our results provide insights into kinetics and pore-scale physics that determine the geophysical signature from HBS at various scales. Based on our findings of hydrate occurrence in both gas and gas-water interface, we argue that hydrate growth in natural HBS is not limited to the water liquid phase. Our observation of hydrate pore habit alteration by Ostwald ripening explains patchy saturation and heterogeneous distribution of hydrate in natural HBS, which gives physical insight to improve geophysical hydrate models in porous media.

Study of hydrogen-molecule guests in type II clathrate hydrates using a force-matched potential model parameterised from ab initio molecular dynamics.

The force-matching method has been applied to parameterise an empirical potential model for water-water and water-hydrogen intermolecular interactions for use in clathrate-hydrate simulations containing hydrogen guest molecules. The underlying reference simulations constituted ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) of clathrate hydrates with various occupations of hydrogen-molecule guests. It is shown that the resultant model is able to reproduce AIMD-derived free-energy curves for the movement of a tagged hydrogen molecule between the water cages that make up the clathrate, thus giving us confidence in the model. Furthermore, with the aid of an umbrella-sampling algorithm, we calculate barrier heights for the force-matched model, yielding the free-energy barrier for a tagged molecule to move between cages. The barrier heights are reasonably large, being on the order of 30 kJ/mol, and are consistent with our previous studies with empirical models [C. J. Burnham and N. J. English, J. Phys. Chem. C 120, 16561 (2016) and C. J. Burnham et al., Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 19, 717 (2017)]. Our results are in opposition to the literature, which claims that this system may have very low barrier heights. We also compare results to that using the more ad hoc empirical model of Alavi et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 123, 024507 (2005)] and find that this model does very well when judged against the force-matched and ab initio simulation data.

Rheological study on CO2 hydrate slurries for secondary refrigeration

To help the fight against climate change, the Kigali deal has planned to eliminate hydrofluorocarbon’s use (HFC) in industrial systems. HFCs are powerful greenhouse gases with a high global warming potential. Moreover, HFCs are commonly used as a refrigerant within secondary refrigeration processes for cold production. A solution to limit their negative environmental impact would be to reduce the amount of HFC by using a phase change slurries (PCS) in the secondary loop. A PCS is composed of solid phase change particles (solid-liquid) in a liquid transportation phase. Clathrate hydrates are crystalline particles where gas molecules are trapped in water cages. Due to their high energy densities, hydrate slurries, in particular CO2 hydrates, are relevant twophase secondary fluids because they enhance the energy efficiency of secondary refrigeration systems. In this study, the rheological behaviour of CO2 hydrate slurries in various experimental conditions on a dynamic loop for cold distribution was investigated. An exhaustive state-of-the-art rheological study of hydrate slurries in aqueous solution has pointed out that hydrate slurries are non-Newtonian fluids. However, the rheological behaviour could be different for the same kind of hydrate slurry according to the literature. Moreover, the literature review also highlighted that the most used measurement method for the apparent viscosity is the capillary viscometer. We used a semi-empirical Herschel-Bulkley’s model for determining the apparent viscosity of the CO2 hydrate slurry as a function of the hydrate slurry fraction. This work is primordial for designing and sizing a new efficient refrigeration system based on this innovative material.

Dissociation mechanism of propane hydrate with methanol additive: A molecular dynamics simulation

Employing NPT molecular dynamics method with consistent valence force field, dissociation processes of propane hydrate with and without methanol additive are simulated at different temperatures and a constant pressure of 50 MPa. We analyze structural snapshots, radial distribution functions, density distributions, angle distributions, change of energies, mean square displacements and diffusion coefficients of two comparative models and find that encaging methanol molecules in the 512 cavities could enhance the diffusion behaviors of H2O and C3H8 molecules and shorten the decomposition time of propane hydrate. The hydroxyl group of methanol could form hydrogen bonds with the water cage skeleton, and destroy the original hydrogen bond balance of the hydrate simultaneously. Our theoretical results could provide a useful guideline to understand gas hydrate blocking wellbore in the production and transportation of oil and gas.

Theoretical studies on microstructures, stabilities and formation conditions of some sour gas in the type I, II, and H clathrate hydrates

Clathrate hydrates are well known for the water cage structures and the capability of encapsulating natural gas, generally considered as sour gas if containing appreciable amount of hydrogen sulfide. Using the ab initio calculations at the wB97X-D/6-311++G(2d,2p) level, we have investigated systematically the microstructures of five standard water cavities (ID, D, T, H and I) with single and multiple hydrogen sulfide inside. The interaction energies and deformation energies are predicted to ensure the stabilities and maximum occupancies of cages. In addition, the Gibbs free energies forming various water cavities enclosing CH4 and H2S molecules at temperature range 253 K–283 K are also calculated to explore the selectivity on hydrate types and corresponding formation conditions. The results from this work may provide new insight into the theory for the replacement scheme in the exploitation of natural gas hydrate.

Hydrogen bonding interactions between the organic oxygen/nitrogen monomers of lignite and water molecules: A DFT and AIM study

A lignite monomer of organic oxygen (LMO) and a lignite monomer of organic nitrogen (LMN) were constructed based on the occurrence forms of organic oxygen/nitrogen in lignites, then their intermolecular hydrogen bonding interactions (HBIs) with water molecules were investigated using the density functional theory (DFT) and the quantum theory of atoms in molecules (AIM). The results show that a variety of LMO-(H2O)n (n=1–16) and LMN-(H2O)n (n=1–12) complexes were formed. A water cage cluster containing 16 water molecules and a water film cluster containing 10 water molecules were observed in LMO-(H2O)16 and LMN-(H2O)12 complexes, respectively, and cyclic water tetramers were the dominated existing form of water clusters. The ratio of hydrogen bonding energy (HBE) among water molecules to the total HBE in lignite⋯water complexes gradually increases with the number of water molecules increasing, and the ratios are 84% and 44% in LMO-(H2O)16 and LMN-(H2O)12 complexes, respectively. The intermolecular HBIs in LMO-(H2O)12 and LMN-(H2O)12 complexes can be divided into purely weak and medium closed-shell non-covalent interactions. Molecular electrostatic potential analyses imply that the most formation sites of hydrogen bonds are transferred to the O atoms of water molecules from the O and N atoms in LMO and LMN with the number of water molecules increasing in LMO-(H2O)n and LMN-(H2O)n complexes.

Two-component, ab initio potential energy surface for CO2-H2O, extension to the hydrate clathrate, CO2@(H2O)20, and VSCF/VCI vibrational analyses of both.

We report an ab initio, full-dimensional, potential energy surface (PES) for CO2-H2O, in which two-body interaction energies are fit using a basis of permutationally invariant polynomials and combined with accurate potentials for the non-interacting monomers. This approach which we have termed "plug and play" is extended here to improve the precision of the 2-body fit in the long range. This is done by combining two separate fits. One is a fit to 47 593 2-body energies in the region of strong interaction and approaching the long range, and the second one is a fit to 6244 2-body energies in the long range. The two fits have a region of overlap which permits a smooth switch from one to the other. All energies are obtained at the CCSD(T)-F12b/aug-cc-pVTZ level of theory. Properties of the full PES, i.e., stationary points, harmonic frequencies of the global minimum, etc., are shown to be in excellent agreement with direct CCSD(T)-F12b/aug-cc-pVTZ results. Diffusion Monte Carlo calculations of the dimer zero-point energy (ZPE) are performed, and a dissociation energy, D0, of 787 cm-1 is obtained using that ZPE, De, and the rigorous ZPEs of the monomers. Using a benchmark De, D0 is 758 cm-1. Vibrational self-consistent field (VSCF)/virtual state configuration interaction (VCI) MULTIMODE calculations of intramolecular fundamentals are reported and are in good agreement with available experimental results. Finally, the full dimer PES is combined with an existing ab initio water potential to develop a potential for the CO2 hydrate clathrate CO2(H2O)20(512 water cage). A full normal-mode analysis of this hydrate clathrate is reported as are local-monomer VSCF/VCI calculations of the fundamentals of CO2.

MOFs with PCU Topology for the Inclusion of One-Dimensional Water Cages: Selective Sorption of Water Vapor, CO2, and Dyes and Luminescence Properties

A rigid pyridine-3,5-bis(5-azabenzimidazole) ligand (L) and linear dicarboxylate sodium terephthalate (TPA) with Cd(II), Zn(II), and Co(II) under solvothermal conditions afforded water stable and nitrogen-rich MOFs with general formulas [Cd2L2(TPA)2]·12H2O}n, 1, {[Zn4L4(TPA)4]·(DMF)·16H2O}n, 2, and {[Co2L2(TPA)2]·12H2O}n, 3, respectively. These MOFs are found to contain doubly interpenetrated pcu networks with hydrophilic channels. The networks are propagated by M2(CO2)2 SBUs (intermetallic distances 4.0 A) which leads to the formation of a two-dimensional grid structure of metal-terephthalate. The shape of grids varies from rhomboidal to squaric depending on the presence of a metal center. The channels of these MOFs are occupied by the one-dimensional water cages. In the pcu network, each cuboid is found to have dimensions of ∼12.5 A as width and 18.5 A as length. They have shown an excellent ability for water vapor sorption (180–225 cc/g at 298 K). Further, CO2 is found to be the preferred sorbent (70 c...

Study on emotion by rest time in mice with repetitive sleep deprivation.

Sleep deprivation (SD) inhibits normal biorhythms, causing physical and mental problems. To solve the problems caused by SD, fundamental measures are needed. I investigated change of recovery by rest time in psychological aspect after repetitive SD. The mice were divided into four groups: control 24-hr rest after 24-hr SD group, 48-hr rest after 24-hr SD group, and 72-hr rest after 24-hr SD group (n=20 in each group). I carried out SD in the water cage included multiple platforms. Repetitive SD executes for 36 days. I measured weight every week after SD for 6 weeks. To check emotional condition, I carried out intruder-evoked aggression test and modified forced swimming test. In the present results, group treated 24-hr rest and 48-hr rest after 24-hr SD showed lower natural aggressiveness and high depression. However, group treated 72-hr rest after 24-hr SD indicated emotional changes to recover the normal conditions. In the weight change, all group showed significant decrease compared to control for 6 weeks. I suggest that appropriate rest time after SD can help to restore emotional change.

Ab Initio Studies on the Clathrate Hydrates of Some Nitrogen- and Sulfur-Containing Gases.

Ab initio calculations are performed to investigate the host-guest interactions and multiple occupancies of some sulfur- (H2S, CS2) and nitrogen-containing (N2, NO, and NH3) molecules in dodecahedral, tetrakaidecahedral, and hexakaidecahedral water cages in this work. Five functionals in the framework of density functional theory are compared, and the M06-2X method appears to be the best to predict the binding energies as well as the geometries. Results show that N2 and NO molecules are more stable in the 51264 cage, while NH3 and H2S prefer to stabilize in the 51262 cage. This suggests that the sI hydrates of NH3 and H2S exhibit higher stability than the sII structures and that sII NO hydrate is more stable than sI NO hydrate. N2 is found to be more stable in type II structure with single occupancy and to form type I hydrate with multiple occupancy, which is consistent with the experimental observations. As to the guest molecule CS2, it may undergo severe structural deformation in the 512 and 51262 cage. For multiple occupancies, the 512, 51262, and 51264 water cages can trap up to two N2 molecules, and the 51264 water cage can accommodate two H2S molecules. This work is expected to provide new insight into the formation mechanism of clathrate hydrates for atmospherically important molecules.

A theoretical investigation of water–solute interactions: from facial parallel to guest–host structures

Encapsulation of small (bio-)organic molecules within water cages is governed by a subtle equilibrium between water–water and water–solute interactions. The competition between the formation of exohedral and endohedral complexes is investigated. The first step prior to a theoretical characterization of interactions involved in such complexes lies in the judicious choice of a level of theory. The β-propiolactone (BPL), a solute for which the micro-hydration was recently characterized by means of high resolution microwave spectroscopy (Angew. Chem. 2015, 127, 993), was selected for the present study, and a calibration step is carried out. It is shown that the dispersion-corrected density functional theory (DFT-D) suitably reproduce the geometric, energetic and spectroscopic features of the BPL:(H2O)1–5 complexes. The experimentally deduced structures of the BPL:(H2O)4,5 species are fully understood in terms of the maximization of interactions between complementary sites in the MESPs. DFT-D calculations followed by the topological analysis within the Quantum Theory of Atoms in Molecules framework have shown that the solute could efficiently interact with (H2O)6,10 clusters in a similar manner that the (H2O)4,5 clusters do. The interaction of the solute with two larger water clusters is further investigated. The exohedral and endohedral BPL:(H2O)20 isomers are close in energy with each other, whereas the formation of an inclusion complex is energetically more favored than the facial interaction in the case of the BPL:(H2O)24 cluster. The topological analysis suggests that the substantial energetic stability is due to interactions between the solute and almost all oxygen atoms of the water cage.

Escaping the Water Cage: Protein Intramolecular Vibrations and the Dynamical Transition

The protein dynamical transition is the remarkable increase in the average atomic root mean squared displacement (RMSD) in the 180-220 K range. The effect is associated with the onset of anharmonic motions critical to biological function. However evidence of the actual biological relevance of the dynamical transition is inconsistent. While for some proteins, function ceases below the dynamical transition, for other proteins the dynamical transition appears to have no effect. Here we report measurements that suggest the difference arises from the dependence of function on large scale conformational change, and specifically the reliance on long range vibrations to access these structural changes. The dynamical transition has been extensively observed using X-ray, neutron scattering, NMR and terahertz absorption spectroscopy [1,2], with the results indicating it arises from thermally activated solvent motions. Those techniques measure all motions contributing to the RMSD including both localized motions and intramolecular vibrations. To isolate the vibrations and examine how the dynamical transition impacts them, we use a new technique, anisotropy terahertz microscopy (ATM) [3]. This unique method suppresses the background from the localized motions giving unprecedented access to the long range motions that enable large scale conformational changes. ATM measurements of lysozyme anisotropic optical absorbance in the 150-300 K temperature range show that the resonant vibrational bands rapidly increase in intensity at the dynamical transition, and surprisingly blue shift with increasing temperature, in contrast to the expected anharmonicity. The measurements demonstrate that the surrounding solvent below the dynamical transition acts as a frozen cage preventing the vibrations necessary for functional conformational change. This solvent slaving of the long range vibrations potentially impacts protein structural stability and vulnerability to structural disorder. This work was supported by NSF (DBI 1556359 and MCB 1616529), and DOE DE-SC0016317. 1. Doster,W., et al. Phys.Rev.Lett., 2010.104(9):098101. 2. Niessen,K., et al. Biophys.Rev., 2015.7,201. 3. Acbas,G., et al. Nat.Commun., 2014.5,3076.

Confinement of hydrogen and hydroxyl radicals in water cages: a density functional theory study

Radicals can be confined in water cages and exhibit similar structures and properties to their corresponding free forms.

Conformational and hydration properties modulate ice recognition by type I antifreeze protein and its mutants.

The mechanism of ice recognition by antifreeze protein (AFP) is a topic of recent interest. Here, using equilibrium simulations and free energy calculations, we provide structural rationale to the observed experimental anomalies on type I AFP (wfAFP isoform HPLC6) and its mutants as well as probe the molecular origin of ice recognition by them. Our results clearly demonstrate that the interplay between the conformational and hydration properties dictates the ice binding ability of type I AFP and its mutants. We find that HPLC6 exists as a highly stable long helix which adsorbs on the ice surface through the ordered water cages around the CH3 group of threonine (THR) residues, rather than directly binding to the ice surface via threonine (THR) through hydrogen bonding. Upon mutating THR with serine (SER), the straight helix conformation of HPLC6 disappears and the most stable conformation is a kinked helix devoid of ice binding ability. Free energy calculations reveal that there is a dynamic equilibrium between straight and bent helical conformations in the case of a valine (VAL) mutant. The straight long helical form of the VAL mutant also has the ability to form an ordered water cage structure around the CH3 groups of the VAL residues and thereby efficiently adsorbs on an ice plane similar to the wild type AFP.

Lithium Quantum Consciousness

Conscious agency is considered to be founded upon a quantum state of mind . An original synthesis, called “Lithium Quantum Consciousness” (LQC), proposes that this quantum state utilises lithium-6 (spin-1) qutrit nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) quantum information processing (QIP) in the connectome (brain-graph). In parallel to the connectome’s processing of physiological controls, perception, cognition and intelligence via quantum electrodynamics (QED), the connectome also functions via its dynamic algebraic topology as a unitary transceiver antenna laced with lithium-6 nuclei which are spin-entangled with each other and with the environmental vortical gluon field via quantum chromodynamics (QCD). This unitary antenna (connectome) bestows the self its unity of consciousness within an intertwined-history multi-agent environment. An equivalence is proposed between Whitehead’s occasions of experience and topological spacetime instantons in the vortical gluon field. Topological spacetime instantons pervade the vortical gluon field in a quantum information network of vortex interactions, herein termed the “instanton-net”, or “Instanet” [sic]. The fermionic isotope lithium-6 has a very low nuclear binding energy and the smallest non-zero nuclear electric quadrupole moment of any stable nucleus making it susceptible to quantum chromodynamic (QCD) interaction with the vortical gluon field and ideal for spin-1 qutrit NMR-QIP. The compact spherical atomic orbital of lithium provides ideal rotational freedom inside tetrahedral water cages in organo6Li+(H2O)4 within which the lithium nucleus rapidly tumbles for NMR motional narrowing and long decoherence times. Nuclear spin-entanglement, among water-caged lithium-6 nuclei in the connectome, is a spin-1 qutrit NMR-QIP resource for conscious agency. By contrast, similar tetrahedral xenon cages in organo6Li+Xe4 excimers are postulated to decohere the connectome’s NMR-QIP due to xenon’s NMR signal being extremely sensitive to its molecular environment. By way of this quantum neurochemistry, lithium is an effective psychiatric medication for enhancing mood and xenon is an effective anaesthetic.

Photochemical production of carbonyl sulfide, carbon disulfide and dimethyl sulfide in a lake water

Photochemical production of carbonyl sulfide (COS), carbon disulfide (CS2) and dimethyl sulfide (DMS) was intensively studied in the water from the Aohai Lake of Beijing city. The lake water was found to be highly supersaturated with COS, CS2 and DMS, with their initial concentrations of 0.91±0.073nmol/L, 0.55±0.071nmol/L and 0.37±0.062nmol/L, respectively. The evident photochemical production of COS and CS2 in the lake water under irradiation of 365nm and 302nm indicated that photochemical production of them might be the reason for their supersaturation. The similar dependence of wavelength and oxygen for photochemical production of COS, CS2 and DMS implied that they might be from the same precursors. The water cage effect was found to favor COS production but inhibit CS2 and DMS formation, indicating that COS photochemical production was mainly from direct degradation of the precursors and the formation of CS2 and DMS needed intermediates via combination of carbon-centered radicals and sulfur-centered radicals. The above assumptions were further confirmed by simulation experiments with addition of carbonyls and amino acids (cysteine and methionine), and the photochemical formation mechanisms for COS, CS2 and DMS in water were derived from the investigations.

Computational design of a new inhibitor for 6-Hydroxymethyl-7,8-dihydropteroate synthase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Tuberculosis that is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis is one of the widespread infectious diseases with millions of death worldwide. Prevalence of Multi-drug-resistant (MDR) tuberculosis and emergence of extensively drug-resistant (XDR) species of M. tuberculosis have necessitated the discovery of new and potent antibiotics. Designing of specific inhibitors for 6-hydroxymethyl-7,8-dihydropteroate synthase (DHPS) has attracted a great interest because of its crucial role in de novo folate synthesis in prokaryotic but not in mammalian cells. In the current study, the ligand of DHPS, namely 6-hydroxymethylpterin monophosphate (PtP) was used as a template for structural-based inhibitor design. Virtual screening was performed between compounds with structural similarity to PtP. Between docked compounds against DHPS, 2-amino-6-(1,2,3-trihydroxybutyl)-1H-pteridin-4-one (PtP_1) showed the most negative free energy of binding. Binding of PtP and PtP_1 to DHPS was further investigated through molecular dynamic simulation. DHPS as alone or in complex with ligands was minimized, solvated in an explicit water cage, neutralized by addition of required ions and simulated for 50 ns. According to trajectories, PtP_1 shows high affinity for the active site of DHPS by H-bonds, hydrophobic forces, and cation-? interactions. Our results show that there could be a great chance for designing new inhibitors against DHPS from M. tuberculosis .

Water ordering controls the dynamic equilibrium of micelle-fibre formation in self-assembly of peptide amphiphiles.

Understanding the role of water in governing the kinetics of the self-assembly processes of amphiphilic peptides remains elusive. Here, we use a multistage atomistic-coarse-grained approach, complemented by circular dichroism/infrared spectroscopy and dynamic light scattering experiments to highlight the dual nature of water in driving the self-assembly of peptide amphiphiles (PAs). We show computationally that water cage formation and breakage near the hydrophobic groups control the fusion dynamics and aggregation of PAs in the micellar stage. Simulations also suggest that enhanced structural ordering of vicinal water near the hydrophilic amino acids shifts the equilibrium towards the fibre phase and stimulates structure and order during the PA assembly into nanofibres. Experiments validate our simulation findings; the measured infrared O–H bond stretching frequency is reminiscent of an ice-like bond which suggests that the solvated water becomes increasingly ordered with time in the assembled peptide network, thus shedding light on the role of water in a self-assembly process.

Encaged molecules in external electric fields: A molecular "tug-of-war".

Response of polar molecules CH3OH and H2O2 and a non-polar molecule, CO2, as "guests" encapsulated in the dodecahedral water cage (H2O)20 "host," to an external, perturbative electric field is investigated theoretically. We employ the hybrid density-functionals M06-2X and ωB97X-D incorporating the effects of damped dispersion, in conjunction with the maug-cc-pVTZ basis set, amenable for a hydrogen bonding description. While the host cluster (cage) tends to confine the embedded guest molecule through cooperative hydrogen bonding, the applied electric field tends to rupture the cluster-composite by stretching it; these two competitive effects leading to a molecular "tug-of-war." The composite remains stable up to a maximal sustainable threshold electric field, beyond which, concomitant with the vanishing of the HOMO-LUMO gap, the field wins over and the cluster breaks down. The electric-field effects are gauged in terms of the changes in the molecular geometry of the confined species, interaction energy, molecular electrostatic potential surfaces, and frequency shifts of characteristic normal vibrations in the IR regime. Interestingly, beyond the characteristic threshold electric field, the labile, distorted host cluster fragmentizes, and the guest molecule still tethered to a remnant fragment, an effect attributed to the underlying hydrogen-bonded networks.