Structures of Pyridine-Water Clusters Studied with Infrared-Vacuum Ultraviolet Spectroscopy

Solvatochromism in Mixtures of Hydrogen Bond Acceptor (HBA) Solvents with Water

The UV/Vis absorption energies νmax of Reichardt's dye B30 with respect to ET(30) and 4-nitroaniline (NA) are investigated as a function of the solvent composition Nav,z. in co-solvent/water mixtures. Nav,z. is the average molar concentration of the solvent mixture at a given solvent fraction z. The z can be the mole, the volume or the mass fraction. The co-solvents considered were acetonitrile, acetone, tetrahydrofuran, pyridine, piperidine and 2-(diethylamino)-ethanol. Acetone and acetonitrile can be expected to slightly enhance the water structure at low co-solvent concentrations. This interpretation is supported by the analysis of the refractive index as a function of the solvent composition. In general, it can be stated that the structural complexity of the binary solvent mixtures is mainly responsible for the evolution of the absorption energies ET(30) or νmax(NA) as a function of the mixture composition. In particular, the endothermic solvation of NA in co-solvent/water mixtures and its effect on the νmax(NA) is highlighted.

Structures and Anharmonic Analyses of the O-H Stretching Vibrations of Jet-Cooled Benzoic Acid (BA), (BA)(H2O)n, and (BA)2(H2O)n (n = 1, 2) Clusters, and Their Ring-Deuterated Isotopologues Measured with IR-VUV Spectroscopy─Unraveling the Complex Anharmonic Couplings in the Cyclic Structures

The IR spectra of benzoic acid (BA), (BA)(H2O)n and (BA)2(H2O)n (n = 1, 2) clusters, and their ring-deuterated isotopologues in the 2800-3750 cm-1 region were measured with IR-vacuum ultraviolet spectroscopy under the jet-cooled condition. For (BA)(H2O) and (BA)(H2O)2, only a single isomer was observed for each species, whereas for (BA)2(H2O) and (BA)2(H2O)2, more than one isomers were present. The observed IR spectra were very complex and showed similar structures between (BA)m(H2O)n and their ring-deuterated isotopologues (BA-d5)m(H2O)n for specific values of m and n. The anharmonic analysis based on the vibrational second-order perturbation theory indicated that the complexity of the IR spectra in these clusters was due to the appearance of many bands of (i) the overtone and combination modes involving the O-H bend of H2O and the in-plane C-O-H bends and the C═O stretch of BA, and (ii) the combination modes involving the hydrogen-bonded O-H stretch and low-frequency intermolecular vibrations, with considerable intensities.

Structures of (Pyrazine)2 and (Pyrazine)(Benzene) Dimers Investigated with Infrared-Vacuum Ultraviolet Spectroscopy and Quantum-Chemical Calculations: Competition among π-π, CH···π, and CH···N Interactions

The structures of a pyrazine dimer (pyrazine)₂ and (pyrazine)(benzene) hetero-dimer cooled in a supersonic beam were investigated by the measurement of the infrared spectra in the C-H stretching region with infrared-vacuum ultraviolet (IR-VUV) spectroscopy and quantum-chemical calculations. The stabilization energy calculation at the CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVTZ level of theory predicted three isomers for (pyrazine)₂ and three for (pyrazine)(benzene) with energy within 6 kJ/mol. Among them, the cross-displaced π-π stacked structure is the most stable in both dimers. In the observed IR spectra, both dimers exhibited two intense bands near 3065 cm^-1, with intervals of 8 cm^-1 in (pyrazine)₂ and 11 cm^-1 in (pyrazine)(benzene), while only one band appeared in the monomer. For (pyrazine)(benzene), we also measured the IR spectrum of (pyrazine)(benzene-d₆), where the interval of the two bands was unchanged. The analysis of the observed IR spectra with anharmonic calculations suggested the coexistence of three isomers of (pyrazine)₂ and (pyrazine)(benzene) in a supersonic jet. For (pyrazine)₂, the two isomers which were previously assigned to the H-bonded planar and the π-π stacked structures respectively were reassigned to the cross-displaced π-π stacked and T-shaped structures, respectively. In addition, the quantum chemical calculation and IR-VUV spectral measurement suggested the coexistence of the H-bonded planar isomer in the jet. For (pyrazine)(benzene), the IR spectrum of the (pyrazine) site showed a similar spectral pattern to that of (pyrazine)₂, especially the split at ∼3065 cm^-1. However, the anharmonic analysis suggested that they are assigned to the different vibrational motions of (pyrazine). The anharmonic vibrational analysis is essential to associate the observed IR spectra with the correct structures of the dimer.

Molecularly Engineered Covalent Organic Frameworks for Hydrogen Peroxide Photosynthesis

Synthesizing H₂ O₂ from water and air via a photocatalytic approach is ideal for efficient production of this chemical at small-scale. However, the poor activity and selectivity of the 2 e^- water oxidation reaction (WOR) greatly restricts the efficiency of photocatalytic H₂ O₂ production. Herein we prepare a bipyridine-based covalent organic framework photocatalyst (denoted as COF-TfpBpy) for H₂ O₂ production from water and air. The solar-to-chemical conversion (SCC) efficiency at 298 K and 333 K is 0.57 % and 1.08 %, respectively, which are higher than the current reported highest value. The resulting H₂ O₂ solution is capable of degrading pollutants. A mechanistic study revealed that the excellent photocatalytic activity of COF-TfpBpy is due to the protonation of bipyridine monomer, which promotes the rate-determining reaction (2 e^- WOR) and then enhances Yeager-type oxygen adsorption to accelerate 2 e^- one-step oxygen reduction. This work demonstrates, for the first time, the COF-catalyzed photosynthesis of H₂ O₂ from water and air; and paves the way for wastewater treatment using photocatalytic H₂ O₂ solution.