The structure around nitrate ions in concentrated aqueous solutions

Unveiling the structure of aqueous magnesium nitrate solutions by combining X-ray diffraction and theoretical calculations

The structure of aqueous magnesium nitrate solution is gaining significant interest among researchers, especially whether contact ion pairs exist in concentrated solutions. Here, combining X-ray diffraction experiments, quantum chemical calculations and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations, we report that the [Mg(NO₃)₂] molecular structure in solution from the coexistence of a free [Mg(H₂O)₆]²⁺ octahedral supramolecular structure with a free [NO₃(H₂O)_n]^- (n = 11-13) supramolecular structure to an [Mg²⁺(H₂O)_n(NO₃^-)_m] (n = 3, 4, 5; m = 3, 2, 1) associated structure with increasing concentration. Interestingly, two hydration modes of NO₃^--the nearest neighbor hydration with a hydration distance less than 3.9 Å and the next nearest neighbor hydration with hydration distance ranging from 3.9 to 4.3 Å-were distinguished. With an increase in the solution concentration, the hydrated NO₃^- ions lost outer layer water molecules, and the hexagonal octahedral hydration structure of [Mg(H₂O)₆²⁺] was destroyed, resulting in direct contact between Mg²⁺ and NO₃^- ions in a monodentate way. As the concentration of the solution further increased, NO₃^- ions replaced water molecules in the hydration layer of Mg²⁺ to form three-ion clusters and even more complex chains or linear ion clusters.

Hydration and Ion-Pair Formation of NaNO3(aq): A Vibrational Spectroscopic and Density Functional Theory Study

Qualitative and quantitative Raman and infrared measurements on sodium nitrate (NaNO₃) solutions have been carried out over a wide concentration range (5.56 × 10^-6-7.946 mol/L) in water and heavy water. The Raman spectra were measured from 4000 cm^-1 to low wavenumbers at 45 cm^-1. Band fit analysis on the profile of the 1047 cm^-1 band, ν₁(a1') NO3- measured at high resolution at 0.90 cm^-1 produced a small contribution at 1027 cm^-1 of the isotopomer N¹⁶O₂¹⁸O(aq). The effect of solute concentration on the Raman and infrared bands has been systematically recorded. Extrapolation of the experimental data resulted in values for all the nitrate bands of the "free", i.e., fully hydrated NO3-(aq). However, even in dilute solutions, the vibrational symmetry of the hydrated NO3-(aq) is broken and the antisymmetric N-O stretch, which is degenerate for the isolated anion, is split by 56 cm^-1. At concentrations >2.5 mol/L, direct contact between Na⁺ and NO3- was observed and accompanied by large band parameter changes. DFT calculations on NO3-(H₂O)_n (n = 1-3) led to optimized geometries and vibrational frequencies which reproduced the measured ones within an accuracy of 1%. A hydrated gas phase species Na⁺(H₂O)₁₀NO3- was optimized resulting in the geometry and symmetry of the nitrate, which is bound in an antisymmetric bidentate fashion with the nitrate possessing C₁. The ν₁ Na⁺(OH₂) breathing mode in aqueous solution appears at 189 cm^-1, whereas in heavy water, ν₁ Na⁺(OD₂) is shifted to 175.6 cm^-1 due to the isotope effect. DFT calculations on hydrated Na⁺(OH₂)_n gas phase clusters provided realistic Na⁺ hydrate structures with n = 4 and 5, which resembled the measured frequency of ν₁ Na⁺ OH₂ mode quite well. Quantitative Raman analysis employing the symmetric stretching band, ν₁(a1') NO3-, has been carried out down to concentrations as low as 5.56 × 10^-6mol/L. The in-plane deformation mode ν₄(e') in the Raman scattering at higher concentrations has been used as an indicator band for directly coordinated NO3-.

Solvation Shell of the Nitrite Ion in Water: An Ab Initio Molecular Dynamics Study

We performed ab initio molecular dynamics simulation of a nitrite ion in water to investigate the structural and dynamical properties of its hydration shell. The nitrite ion is found to exhibit strong asymmetry toward hydrogen bonding due to its two different types of hydrogen bond acceptor sites. This difference is better captured through further partitioning of the hydration shell into its proximal and distal regions. The frequency shifts of the stretch modes of hydration shell water reveal that the nitrogen site forms a stronger hydrogen bond than its oxygen sites with the latter forming hydrogen bonds, which are similar in strength to that between a pair of water molecules. The escape dynamics of water from the hydration shell is found to be rather slow, which seems to classify the nitrite ion as a structure-maker. However, the dynamics of orientational and hydrogen bond relaxation reveal a faster mobility of water molecules in the hydration shell than bulk water in spite of strong ion-water interactions. It is found that the nitrite ion can hold water molecules in its solvation shell and still make them rotate fast in its vicinity through switching of their hydrogen bonds between its nitrogen and oxygen acceptor sites. The dipole moment of the solute in water is also calculated in the present study.

Decoding Oxyanion Aqueous Solvation Structure: A Potassium Nitrate Example at Saturation

The ability to probe the structure of a salt solution at the atomic scale is fundamentally important for our understanding of many chemical reactions and their mechanisms. The capability of neutron diffraction to "see" hydrogen (or deuterium) and other light isotopes is exceptional for resolving the structural complexity around the dissolved solutes in aqueous electrolytes. We have made measurements using oxygen isotopes on aqueous nitrate to reveal a small hydrogen-bonded water coordination number (3.9 ± 1.2) around a nitrate oxyanion. This is compared to estimates made using the existing method of nitrogen isotope substitution and those of computational simulations (>5-6 water molecules). The low water coordination number, combined with a comparison to classical molecular dynamics simulations, suggests that ion-pair formation is significant. This insight demonstrates the utility of experimental diffraction data for benchmarking atomistic computer simulations, enabling the development of more accurate intermolecular potentials.

Microbeam XAFS Investigations on Fluid Inclusions

In this paper, we discuss the use of x-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) techniques for the determination of structure of metal complexes in fluid inclusions heated to elevated temperatures. Analysis of Zn K-edge XAFS spectra measured from a single hypersaline fluid inclusion in quartz shows that the ZnCl42- complex is dominant at all temperatures up to and including 430 °C. The Zn-Cl bond length was found to decrease uniformly with temperature, up to nearly 2% at 430 °C in comparison to the value at 25 °C. The Zn-Cl mean-square relative displacement increased linearly with temperature, from a value of 0.0043 Å2 at 25 °C to 0.0089 Å2 at 430 °C.

Solution structure of NaNO3 in water: diffraction and molecular dynamics simulation study

The structure of a series of aqueous sodium nitrate solutions (1.9-7.6 M) was studied using a combination of experimental and theoretical methods. The results obtained from diffraction (X-ray, neutron) and molecular dynamics simulation have been compared and the capabilities and limitations of the methods in describing solution structure are discussed. For the solutions studied, diffraction methods were found to perform very well in description of hydration spheres of the sodium ion but do not yield detailed structural information on the anion's hydration structure. Molecular dynamics simulations proved to be a suitable tool in the detailed interpretation of the hydration sphere of ions, ion pair formation, and bulk structure of solutions.

Structure and interactions in simple solutions

Neutron scattering with hydrogen/deuterium isotopic substitution techniques has been used to investigate the full range of structural interactions in a dilute 0.02 mol fraction solution of tertiary butanol in water, both in the absence and in the presence of a small amount of sodium chloride. Emphasis is given to the detailed pictures of the intermolecular interactions that have been derived using the empirical potential structure refinement technique. Analysis has been performed to the level of the spatial density distribution functions that illustrate the orientational dependence of the intermolecular interactions between all combinations of molecular and ionic components. The results show the key structural motifs involved in the interactions between the various components in a complex aqueous system. They underline the structural versatility of the water molecule in accommodating a range of different kinds of interactions while retaining its characteristic first-neighbour interaction geometry. Within this framework, the results highlight the complex interplay between the polar, non-polar and charged molecular interactions that exist in the system.

The hydration structure of guanidinium and thiocyanate ions: implications for protein stability in aqueous solution

Neutron diffraction experiments were carried out on aqueous solutions containing either guanidinium or thiocyanate ions. The first-order difference method of neutron diffraction and isotopic substitution was applied, and the hydration structures of two of nature's strongest denaturant ions were determined. Each ion is shown to interact weakly with water: Guanidinium has no recognizable hydration shell and is one of the most weakly hydrated cations yet characterized. Hydration of thiocyanate is characterized by a low coordination number involving around one hydrogen-bonded water molecule and approximately two water molecules weakly interacting through "hydration bonds." The weak hydration of these denaturant ions strongly supports suggestions that a major contribution to the denaturant effect is the preferential interaction of the denaturant with the protein surface. By contrast, solute species such as many sugars and related polyols that stabilize proteins are strongly hydrated and are thus preferentially retained in the bulk solvent and excluded from the protein surface.