Issue 35, 2024

A new computational methodology for the characterization of complex molecular environments using IR spectroscopy: bridging the gap between experiments and computations

Abstract

The molecular interactions and dynamics of complex liquid solutions are now routinely measured using IR and 2DIR spectroscopy. In particular, the use of the latter allows the determination of the frequency fluctuation correlation function (FFCF), while the former provides us with the average frequency. In turn, the FFCF can be used to quantify the vibrational dynamics of a molecule in a solution, and the center frequency provides details about the chemical environment, solvatochromism, of the vibrational mode. In simple solutions, the IR methodology can be used to unambiguously assign the interactions and dynamics observed by a molecule in solution. However, in complex environments with molecular heterogeneities, this assignment is not simple. Therefore, a method that allows for such an assignment is essential. Here, a parametrization free method, called Instantaneous Frequencies of Molecules or IFM, is presented. The IFM method, when coupled to classical molecular simulations, can predict the FFCF of a molecule in solutions. Here, N-methylacetamide (NMA) in seven different chemical environments, both simple and complex, is used to test this new method. The results show good agreement with experiments for the NMA solvatochromism and FFCF dynamics, including characteristic times and amplitudes of fluctuations. In addition, the new method shows equivalent or improved results when compared to conventional frequency maps. Overall, the use of the new method in conjunction with molecular dynamics simulations allows unlocking the full potential of IR spectroscopy to generate molecular maps from vibrational observables, capable of describing the interaction landscape of complex molecular systems.

Graphical abstract: A new computational methodology for the characterization of complex molecular environments using IR spectroscopy: bridging the gap between experiments and computations

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Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
17 May 2024
Accepted
08 Aug 2024
First published
13 Aug 2024
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY license

Chem. Sci., 2024,15, 14440-14448

A new computational methodology for the characterization of complex molecular environments using IR spectroscopy: bridging the gap between experiments and computations

L. X. Sepulveda-Montaño, J. F. Galindo and D. G. Kuroda, Chem. Sci., 2024, 15, 14440 DOI: 10.1039/D4SC03219E

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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