The 1 : 2 adduct of 1-phenyl-2,2,2-trifluoroethanol (PhTFE), a chiral fluoroalcohol, with two water molecules (PhTFE⋯2HO) was investigated chirped pulse Fourier-transform microwave (CP-FTMW) spectroscopy and theoretical calculations. A systematic search of the PhTFE⋯2HO conformational landscape identified 38 stable minima at the B3LYP-D3BJ/def2-TZVPPD level of theory, 27 of which are within an energy window of 10 kJ mol after applying zero-point energy corrections. Rotational spectra of a single PhTFE⋯2HO conformer along with eight deuterated and three oxygen-18 isotopologues were assigned.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe conformational space of cis-1,2-cyclohexanediol, a model molecule for cyclic vicinal diols, was investigated using rotational spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations. Four low energy conformers within an energy window of 5 kJ mol-1 were identified computationally. A rotational spectrum of jet-cooled cis-1,2-cyclohexanediol was recorded with a chirped pulse Fourier transform microwave spectrometer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTwo competing solvation pathways of 3-methylcatechol (MC), an atmospherically relevant aromatic molecule, with up to five water molecules were explored in detail by using a combination of broadband rotational spectroscopy and computational chemistry. Theoretically, two different pathways of solvation emerge: the commonly observed droplet pathway which involves preferential binding among the water molecules while the solute serves as an anchor point for the formation of a water cluster, and an unexpected wetting pathway which involves interactions between the water molecules and the aromatic face of MC, i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOrganic acids are released during wildfire combustion and can influence aerosol formation and growth. Conformational flexibility is thought to be advantageous in stabilizing the precritical nucleus in the process of aerosol particle formation and allowing for further complexation with other atmospheric constituents. We describe here a study of the conformational flexibility of vanillic acid and its monohydrate using electronic structure calculations and Fourier transform microwave spectroscopy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe homo- and heterochiral protonated dimers of asparagine with serine and with valine were investigated using infrared multiple-photon dissociation (IRMPD) spectroscopy. Extensive quantum-chemical calculations were used in a three-tiered strategy to screen the conformational spaces of all four dimer species. The resulting binary structures were further grouped into five different types based on their intermolecular binding topologies and subunit configurations.
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