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1. On the formation of complex organic molecules in the interstellar medium: untangling the chemical complexity of carbon monoxide–hydrocarbon containing ice analogues exposed to ionizing radiation via a combined infrared and reflectron time-of-flight analysis

   https://doi.org/10.1039/C9CP01793C  

   Abplanalp, Matthew J.; Kaiser, Ralf I. (August 2019, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics)

   Recently, over 200 molecules have been detected in the interstellar medium (ISM), with about one third being complex organic molecules (COMs), molecules containing six or more atoms. Over the last few decades, astrophysical laboratory experiments have shown that several COMs are formed via interaction of ionizing radiation within ices deposited on interstellar dust particles at 10 K (H 2 O, CH 3 OH, CO, CO 2 , CH 4 , NH 3 ). However, there is still a lack of understanding of the chemical complexity that is available through individual ice constituents. The present research investigates experimentally the synthesis of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen bearing COMs from interstellar ice analogues containing carbon monoxide (CO) and methane (CH 4 ), ethane (C 2 H 6 ), ethylene (C 2 H 4 ), or acetylene (C 2 H 2 ) exposed to ionizing radiation. Utilizing online and in situ techniques, such as infrared spectroscopy and tunable photoionization reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometry (PI-ReTOF-MS), specific isomers produced could be characterized. A total of 12 chemically different groups were detected corresponding to C 2 H n O ( n = 2, 4, 6), C 3 H n O ( n = 2, 4, 6, 8), C 4 H n O ( n = 4, 6, 8, 10), C 5 H n O ( n = 4, 6, 8, 10), C 6 H n O ( n = 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14), C 2 H n O 2 ( n = 2, 4), C 3 H n O 2 ( n = 4, 6, 8), C 4 H n O 2 ( n = 4, 6, 8, 10), C 5 H n O 2 ( n = 6, 8), C 6 H n O 2 ( n = 8, 10, 12), C 4 H n O 3 ( n = 4, 6, 8), and C 5 H n O 3 ( n = 6, 8). More than half of these isomer specifically identified molecules have been identified in the ISM, and the remaining COMs detected here can be utilized to guide future astronomical observations. Of these isomers, three groups – alcohols, aldehydes, and molecules containing two of these functional groups – displayed varying degrees of unsaturation. Also, the detection of 1-propanol, 2-propanol, 1-butanal, and 2-methyl-propanal has significant implications as the propyl and isopropyl moieties (C 3 H 7 ), which have already been detected in the ISM via propyl cyanide and isopropyl cyanide, could be detected in our laboratory studies. General reaction mechanisms for their formation are also proposed, with distinct follow-up studies being imperative to elucidate the complexity of COMs synthesized in these ices. 

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2. pH Dependence of the speciation and optical properties of 4-benzoylbenzoic acid

   https://doi.org/10.1039/D3CP01520C  

   Karimova, Natalia; Alija, Onita; Mora García, Stephanie L.; Grassian, Vicki H.; Gerber, R. Benny; Navea, Juan G. (July 2023, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics)

   Organic chromophores initiate much of daytime aqueous phase chemistry in the environment. Thus, studying the absorption spectra of commonly used organic photosensitizers is paramount to fully understand their relevance in environmental processes. In this work, we combined UV-Vis spectroscopy, 1 H-NMR spectroscopy, quantum chemical calculations, and molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the absorption spectra of 4-benzoyl benzoic acid (4BBA), a widely used photosensitizer and a common proxy of environmentally relevant chromophores. Solutions of 4BBA at different pH values show that protonated and deprotonated species have an effect on its absorbance spectra. Theoretical calculations of these species in water clusters provide physical and chemical insights into the spectra. Quantum chemical calculations were conducted to analyze the UV-Vis absorbance spectra of 4BBA species using various cluster sizes, such as C 6 H 5 COC 6 H 4 COOH·(H 2 O) n , where n = 8 for relatively small clusters and n = 30 for larger clusters. While relatively small clusters have been successfully used for smaller chromophores, our results indicate that simulations of protonated species of 4BBA require relatively larger clusters of n = 30. A comparison between the experimental and theoretical results shows good agreement in the pH-dependent spectral shift between the hydrated cluster model and the experimental data. Overall, the theoretical and empirical results indicate that the experimental optical spectra of aqueous phase 4BBA can be represented by the acid–base equilibrium of the keto-forms, with a spectroscopically measured p K a of 3.41 ± 0.04. The results summarized here contribute to a molecular-level understanding of solvated organic molecules through calculations restricted to cluster models, and thereby, broader insight into environmentally relevant chromophores. 

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3. Absorption spectra of benzoic acid in water at different pH and in the presence of salts: insights from the integration of experimental data and theoretical cluster models

   https://doi.org/10.1039/C9CP06728K  

   Karimova, Natalia V.; Luo, Man; Grassian, Vicki H.; Gerber, R. Benny (March 2020, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics)

   The absorption spectra of molecular organic chromophores in aqueous media are of considerable importance in environmental chemistry. In this work, the UV-vis spectra of benzoic acid (BA), the simplest aromatic carboxylic acid, in aqueous solutions at varying pH and in the presence of salts are measured experimentally. The solutions of different pH provide insights into the contributions from both the non-dissociated acid molecule and the deprotonated anionic species. The microscopic interpretation of these spectra is then provided by quantum chemical calculations for small cluster models of benzoic species (benzoic acid and benzoate anion) with water molecules. Calculations of the UV-vis absorbance spectra are then carried out for different clusters such as C 6 H 5 COOH·(H 2 O) n and C 6 H 5 COO − ·(H 2 O) n , where n = 0–8. The following main conclusions from these calculations and the comparison to experimental results can be made: (i) the small water cluster yields good quantitative agreement with observed solution experiments; (ii) the main peak position is found to be very similar at different levels of theory and is in excellent agreement with the experimental value, however, a weaker feature about 1 eV to lower energy (red shift) of the main peak is correctly reproduced only by using high level of theory, such as Algebraic Diagrammatic Construction (ADC); (iii) dissociation of the BA into ions is found to occur with a minimum of water molecules of n = 8; (iv) the deprotonation of BA has an influence on the computed spectrum and the energetics of the lowest energy electronic transitions; (v) the effect of the water on the spectra is much larger for the deprotonated species than for the non-dissociated acid. It was found that to reproduce experimental spectrum at pH 8.0, additional continuum representation for the extended solvent environment must be included in combination with explicit solvent molecules ( n ≥ 3); (vi) salts (NaCl and CaCl 2 ) have minimal effect on the absorption spectrum and; (vii) experimental results showed that B-band of neutral BA is not sensitive to the solvent effects whereas the effect of the water on the C-band is significant. The water effects blue-shift this band up to ∼0.2 eV. Overall, the results demonstrate the ability to further our understanding of the microscopic interpretation of the electronic structure and absorption spectra of BA in aqueous media through calculations restricted to small cluster models. 

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4. Inorganic clusters as metalloligands: ligand effects on the synthesis and properties of ternary nanopropeller clusters

   https://doi.org/10.1039/D0DT02416C  

   Kephart, Jonathan A.; Boggiano, Andrew C.; Kaminsky, Werner; Velian, Alexandra (November 2020, Dalton Transactions)

   null (Ed.)

   Redox-active multimetallic platforms with synthetically addressable and hemilabile active sites are attractive synthetic targets for mimicking the reactivity of enzymatic co-factors toward multielectron transformations. To this end, a family of ternary clusters featuring three edge metal sites anchored on a [Co 6 Se 8 ] multimetallic support via amidophosphine ligands are a promising platform. In this report, we explore how small changes in the stereoelectronic properties of these ligands alter [Co 6 Se 8 ] metalloligand formation, but also substrate binding affinity and strength of the edge/support interaction in two new ternary clusters, M 3 Co 6 Se 8 L 6 (M = Zn, Fe; L (−) = Ph 2 PN (−)i Pr). These clusters are characterized extensively using a range of methods, including single crystal X-ray diffraction, electronic absorption spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry. Substrate binding studies reveal that Fe 3 Co 6 Se 8 L 6 resists coordination of larger ligands like pyridine or tetrahydrofuran, but binds the smaller ligand CN t Bu. Additionally, investigations into the synthesis of new [Co 6 Se 8 ] metalloligands using two aminophosphines, Ph 2 PN(H) i Pr (L H ) and i Pr 2 PN(H) i Pr, led to the synthesis and characterization of Co 6 Se 8 L H 6 , as well as the smaller clusters Co 4 Se 2 (CO) 6 L H 4 , Co 3 Se(μ 2 -PPh 2 )(CO) 4 L H 3 , and [Co(CO) 3 ( i Pr 2 PN(H) i Pr)] 2 . Cumulatively, this study expands our understanding on the effect of the stereoelectronic properties of aminophosphine ligands in the synthesis of cobalt chalcogenide clusters, and, importantly on modulating the push–pull dynamic between the [Co 6 Se 8 ] support, the edge metals and incoming coordinating ligands in ternary M 3 Co 6 Se 8 L 6 clusters. 

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5. Structure and vibrational spectroscopy of complexes of Al+ and Al2+ with ethane

   https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0266163  

   Ashraf, Muhammad Affawn; Metz, Ricardo B (April 2025, The Journal of Chemical Physics)

   The binding motifs of clusters of Al+ and Al2+ with ethane, Alx+(C2H6)n (x = 1, 2; n = 1–3), are determined using vibrational photodissociation spectroscopy in the C–H stretching region (2550–3100 cm−1) in conjunction with spectra calculated using density functional theory. The relative energies of candidate structures are determined with the B3LYP-D3 and ωB97X-D density functionals and the 6–311++G(d,p) basis set. Local mode Hamiltonian calculations are better able to reproduce the spectra than scaled harmonic calculations, due to contributions from bending overtones and combination bands. Vibrational photodissociation spectra show a red shift in the stretching frequencies of C–H bonds that are proximate to the cation. This red shift decreases as the number of ethanes increases. For Al+(C2H6)n (n = 1–3), side-on (T-shaped) binding of the metal is preferred to end-on binding, and subsequent ligands bind on the same side of the cation. Similarly, for Al2+(C2H6)n (n = 1–3), T-shaped configurations in which the C–C and Al–Al bonds are approximately perpendicular and the ethane binds side-on to the Al2+ are preferred. In Al2+(C2H6)n (n = 1–3) complexes, intense bands are observed, which are due to overtones and combinations of symmetric deformations in Fermi resonance with the red-shifted C–H stretches. 

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