Density functional studies of the structural characteristics, 27Al NMR chemical shifts and water-exchange reactions of Al30O8(OH)56(H2O)2618+(Al30) in aqueous solution

In this paper, the structure of the Al30O8(OH)56(H2O)2618+(Al30) polyoxocation in aqueous solution is investigated, including an exploration of its water-exchange reaction using a supramolecular model. Thirty-one solvent water molecules were explicitly included in the supramolecular model to approximate the influence of the solvent. The calculated results indicated that both the gas-phase and the supramolecular models could correctly reproduce the structure of the Al30 polyoxocation, but the supramolecular model described the structure more accurately. Using the supramolecular model, we calculated the 27Al NMR chemical shifts of various aluminum atoms using HF and GIAO methods, and they compared well to the chemical shifts determined experimentally. The water-exchange reaction of the Al30 polyoxocation could not be simulated with the gas phase model because of a proton-transfer reaction that is induced by the highly positive charge of the Al30 polyoxocation. However, the inclusion of an explicit second solvation sphere lowered the acidity of the coordinated water molecules and allowed simulation of the water exchange reaction.