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The structure and activity of peptides and proteins strongly rely on their charge state and the interaction with their hydration environment. Here, infrared photodissociation (IRPD) spectra of size-selected microhydrated clusters of cationic acetanilide (AA+, N-phenylacetamide), AA+-(H2O)n with n ≤ 3, are analysed by dispersion-corrected density functional theory calculations at the ωB97X-D/aug-cc-pVTZ level to determine the stepwise microhydration process of this aromatic peptide model. The IRPD spectra are recorded in the informative X-H stretch (νOH, νNH, νCH, amide A, 2800-3800 cm-1) and fingerprint (amide I-II, 1000-1900 cm-1) ranges to probe the preferred hydration motifs and the cluster growth. In the most stable AA+-(H2O)n structures, the H2O ligands solvate the acidic NH proton of the amide by forming a hydrogen-bonded solvent network, which strongly benefits from cooperative effects arising from the excess positive charge. Comparison with neutral AA-H2O reveals the strong impact of ionization on the acidity of the NH proton and the topology of the interaction potential. Comparison with related hydrated formanilide clusters demonstrates the influence of methylation of the amide group (H → CH3) on the shape of the intermolecular potential and the structure of the hydration shell.

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Solvation of biomolecules by a hydrophilic and hydrophobic environment strongly affects their structure and function. Here, the structural, vibrational, and energetic properties of size-selected clusters of the microhydrated tryptamine cation with N2 ligands, TRA(+)-(H2O)m-(N2)n (m,n ≤ 3), are characterized by infrared photodissociation spectroscopy in the 2800-3800 cm(-1) range and dispersion-corrected density functional theory calculations at the ωB97X-D/cc-pVTZ level to investigate the simultaneous solvation of this prototypical neurotransmitter by dipolar water and quadrupolar N2 ligands. In the global minimum structure of TRA(+)-H2O generated by electron ionization, H2O is strongly hydrogen-bonded (H-bonded) as proton acceptor to the acidic indolic NH group. In the TRA(+)-H2O-(N2)n clusters, the weakly bonded N2 ligands do not affect the H-bonding motif of TRA(+)-H2O and are preferentially H-bonded to the OH groups of the H2O ligand, whereas stacking to the aromatic π electron system of the pyrrole ring of TRA(+) is less favorable. The natural bond orbital analysis reveals that the H-bond between the N2 ligand and the OH group of H2O cooperatively strengthens the adjacent H-bond between the indolic NH group of TRA(+) and H2O, while π stacking is slightly noncooperative. In the larger TRA(+)-(H2O)m clusters, the H2O ligands form a H-bonded solvent network attached to the indolic NH proton, again stabilized by strong cooperative effects arising from the nearby positive charge. Comparison with the corresponding neutral TRA-(H2O)m clusters illustrates the strong impact of the excess positive charge on the structure of the microhydration network.

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Hydration of peptides and proteins has a strong impact on their structure and function. Infrared photodissociation spectra (IRPD) of size-selected clusters of the formanilide cation, FA(+)-(H2O)n (n = 1-5), are analyzed by density functional theory calculations at the ωB97X-D/aug-cc-pVTZ level to determine the sequential microhydration of this prototypical aromatic amide cation. IRPD spectra are recorded in the hydride stretch and fingerprint ranges to probe the preferred interaction motifs and the cluster growth. IRPD spectra of cold Ar-tagged clusters, FA(+)-(H2O)n-Ar, reveal the important effects of temperature and entropy on the observed hydration motifs. At low temperature, the energetically most stable isomers are prominent, while at higher temperature less stable but more flexible isomers become increasingly populated because of entropy. In the most stable structures, the H2O ligands form a hydrogen-bonded solvent network attached to the acidic NH proton of the amide, which is stabilized by large cooperative effects arising from the excess positive charge. In larger clusters, hydration bridges the gap between the NH and CO groups (n ≥ 4) solvating the amide group rather than the more positively charged phenyl ring. Comparison with neutral FA-(H2O)n clusters reveals the strong impact of ionization on the acidity of the NH proton, the strength and topology of the interaction potential, and the structure of the hydration shell.

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Infrared photodissociation (IRPD) spectra of mass-selected 4-aminobenzonitrile-(water)n cluster cations, ABN(+)-(H2O)n with n ≤ 4, recorded in the N-H and O-H stretch ranges are analyzed by quantum chemical calculations at the M06-2X/aug-cc-pVTZ level to determine the evolution of the initial microhydration process of this bifunctional aromatic cation in its ground electronic state. IRPD spectra of cold clusters tagged with Ar and N2 display higher resolution and allow for a clear-cut structural assignment. The clusters are generated in an electron impact source, which generates predominantly the most stable isomers. The IRPD spectra are assigned to single isomers for n = 1-3. The preferred cluster growth begins with sequential hydration of the two acidic NH protons of the amino group (n = 1-2), which is followed by attachment of secondary H2O ligands hydrogen-bonded to the first-shell ligands (n = 3-4). These symmetric and branched structures are more stable than those with a cyclic H-bonded solvent network. Moreover, in the size range n ≤ 4 the formation of a solvent network stabilized by strong cooperative effects is favored over interior ion hydration which is destabilized by noncooperative effects. The potential of the ABN(+)-H2O dimer is characterized in detail and supports the cluster growth derived from the IRPD spectra. Although the N-H bonds are destabilized by stepwise microhydration, which is accompanied by increasing charge transfer from ABN(+) to the solvent cluster, no proton transfer to the solvent is observed for n ≤ 4.

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Infrared photodissociation (IRPD) spectra of mass-selected cluster ions of acetanilide (N-phenylacetamide), AA(+)-Ln, with the ligands L = He (n = 1-2), Ar (n = 1-7), and N2 (n = 1-10) are recorded in the hydride stretch (amide A, νNH, νCH) and fingerprint (amide I-III) ranges of AA(+) in its (2)A'' ground electronic state. Cold AA(+)-Ln clusters are generated in an electron impact ion source, which predominantly produces the most stable isomer of a given cluster ion. Systematic vibrational frequency shifts of the N-H stretch fundamentals (νNH) provide detailed information about the sequential microsolvation process of AA(+) in a nonpolar (L = He and Ar) and quadrupolar (L = N2) solvent. In the most stable AA(+)-Ln clusters, the first ligand forms a hydrogen bond (H-bond) with the N-H proton of trans-AA(+) (t-AA(+)), whereas further ligands bind weakly to the aromatic ring (π-stacking). There is no experimental evidence for complexes with the less stable cis-AA(+) isomer. Quantum chemical calculations at the M06-2X/aug-cc-pVTZ level confirm the cluster growth sequence derived from the IR spectra. The calculated binding energies of De(H) = 720 and 1227 cm(-1) for H-bonded and De(π) = 585 and 715 cm(-1) for π-bonded Ar and N2 ligands in t-AA(+)-L are consistent with the observed photofragmentation branching ratios of AA(+)-Ln. Comparison between charged and neutral AA((+))-L dimers indicates that ionization switches the preferred ion-ligand binding motif from π-stacking to H-bonding. Electron removal from the HOMO of AA(+) delocalized over both the aromatic ring and the amide group significantly strengthens the C[double bond, length as m-dash]O bond and weakens the N-H bond of the amide group.

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Infrared photodissociation (IRPD) spectra of cationic formanilide (N-phenylformamide) clusters, FA(+)-Ln, with L = Ar (n = 1-8) and N2 (n = 1-6), are recorded in the hydride stretch (amide A, νNH, νCH) and fingerprint (amide I-III) ranges to probe the preferred interaction motifs and the cluster growth. Cold FA(+)-Ln clusters are generated by electron ionization in a supersonic expansion, which generates predominantly the most stable cluster isomers. Size- and isomer-specific νNH frequencies unravel the microsolvation process of FA(+) in a nonpolar (L = Ar) and a quadrupolar (L = N2) solvent. The H-bound FA(+)-L dimer with L binding to the NH proton of the amide group is the most stable isomer, and further ligands are attached to the aromatic ring (π-stacking). Ionization changes the preferred binding motif from π-stacking to H-bonding in FA((+))-L. Quantum chemical calculations at the ωB97X-D/aug-cc-pVTZ level confirm the experimentally derived sequential cluster growth and the vibrational and isomer assignments. The calculated FA(+)-L binding energies of D0(H) = 594/1054 cm(-1) for H-bound and D0(π) = 459/604 cm(-1) for π-bound Ar/N2 ligands are consistent with the observed photofragmentation branching ratios. Ionization of FA results from removal of a bonding π-electron delocalized over the phenyl and amide moieties and thus weakens the N-H bond and strengthens the C-O bond.

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Size-selected clusters of the tryptamine cation with N2 ligands, TRA(+)-(N2)n with n = 1-6, are investigated by infrared photodissociation (IRPD) spectroscopy in the hydride stretch range and quantum chemical calculations at the ωB97X-D/cc-pVTZ level to characterize the microsolvation of this prototypical aromatic ethylamino neurotransmitter radical cation in a nonpolar solvent. Two types of structural isomers exhibiting different interaction motifs are identified for the TRA(+)-N2 dimer, namely the TRA(+)-N2(H) global minimum, in which N2 forms a linear hydrogen bond (H-bond) to the indolic NH group, and the less stable TRA(+)-N2(π) local minima, in which N2 binds to the aromatic π electron system of the indolic pyrrole ring. The IRPD spectrum of TRA(+)-(N2)2 is consistent with contributions from two structural H-bound isomers with similar calculated stabilization energies. The first isomer, denoted as TRA(+)-(N2)2(2H), exhibits an asymmetric bifurcated planar H-bonding motif, in which both N2 ligands are attached to the indolic NH group in the aromatic plane via H-bonding and charge-quadrupole interactions. The second isomer, denoted as TRA(+)-(N2)2(H/π), has a single and nearly linear H-bond of the first N2 ligand to the indolic NH group, whereas the second ligand is π-bonded to the pyrrole ring. The natural bond orbital analysis of TRA(+)-(N2)2 reveals that the total stability of these types of clusters is not only controlled by the local H-bond strengths between the indolic NH group and the N2 ligands but also by a subtle balance between various contributing intermolecular interactions, including local H-bonds, charge-quadrupole and induction interactions, dispersion, and exchange repulsion. The systematic spectral shifts as a function of cluster size suggest that the larger TRA(+)-(N2)n clusters with n = 3-6 are composed of the strongly bound TRA(+)-(N2)2(2H) core ion to which further N2 ligands are weakly attached to either the π electron system or the indolic NH proton by stacking and charge-quadrupole forces.

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The dependence of the preferred microhydration sites of 4-aminobenzonitrile (4ABN) on electronic excitation and ionization is determined through IR spectroscopy of its clusters with water (W) in a supersonic expansion and through quantum chemical calculations. IR spectra of neutral 4ABN and two isomers of its hydrogen-bonded (H-bonded) 4ABN-W complexes are obtained in the ground and first excited singlet states (S0, S1) through IR depletion spectroscopy associated with resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization. Spectral analysis reveals that electronic excitation does not change the H-bonding motif of each isomer, that is, H2O binding either to the CN or the NH site of 4ABN, denoted as 4ABN-W(CN) and 4ABN-W(NH), respectively. The IR spectra of 4ABN(+)-W in the doublet cation ground electronic state (D0) are measured by generating them either in an electron ionization source (EI-IR) or through resonant multiphoton ionization (REMPI-IR). The EI-IR spectrum shows only transitions of the most stable isomer of the cation, which is assigned to 4ABN(+)-W(NH). The REMPI-IR spectrum obtained through isomer-selective resonant photoionization of 4ABN-W(NH) is essentially the same as the EI-IR spectrum. The REMPI-IR spectrum obtained by ionizing 4ABN-W(CN) is also similar to that of the 4ABN(+)-W(NH) isomer, but differs from that calculated for 4ABN(+)-W(CN), indicating that the H2O ligand migrates from the CN to the NH site upon ionization with a yield of 100%. The mechanism of this CN→NH site-switching reaction is discussed in the light of the calculated potential energy surface and the role of intracluster vibrational energy redistribution.

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IR spectra of phenol-CH4 complexes generated in a supersonic expansion were measured before and after photoionization. The IR spectrum before ionization shows the free OH stretching vibration (ν(OH)) and the structure of neutral phenol-CH4 in the electronic ground state (S0) is assigned to a π-bound geometry, in which the CH4 ligand is located above the phenol ring. The IR spectrum after ionization to the cationic ground state (D0) exhibits a red shifted ν(OH) band assigned to a hydrogen-bonded cationic structure, in which the CH4 ligand binds to the phenolic OH group. In contrast to phenol-Ar/Kr, the observed ionization-induced π → H migration has unity yield for CH4. This difference is attributed to intracluster vibrational energy redistribution processes.

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IR photodissociation (IRPD) spectra of mass-selected cluster ions of 4-aminobenzonitrile (ABN(+)) with up to four Ar and N2 ligands are recorded over the spectral range of the N-H stretching vibrations (ν(s/a)) of ABN(+) in its (2)B1 ground electronic state. ABN(+)-L(n) clusters are produced in an electron impact cluster ion source, which predominantly generates the most stable isomer of a given cluster ion. Vibrational frequency shifts of ν(s/a) provide information about the sequential microsolvation process of ABN(+) in a nonpolar solvent. In ABN(+)-(N2)n, the first two ligands fill a first subshell by forming hydrogen bonds to the acidic protons of the amino group, whereas further ligands bind more weakly to the aromatic ring (π bonds). Although the preferred cluster growth sequence in ABN(+)-Ar(n) is similar, several isomers are observed because the hydrogen bonds are only slightly stronger than the π bonds. Quantum chemical calculations at the M06-2X/aug-cc-pVTZ level confirm the cluster growth sequence derived from the IR spectra and provide further details of the intermolecular potential. The calculated binding energies of D0(H)=532 and 895 cm(-1) for hydrogen-bonded and D0(π)=512 and 530 cm(-1) for π-bonded Ar and N2 ligands are consistent with the observed photofragmentation branching ratios. Comparison between ABN(+)-L(n) and the corresponding clusters with the aniline cation demonstrates that the NH protons of the amino group become slightly more acidic upon H→CN substitution at the para position. Comparison between charged and neutral ABN((+))-L dimers indicates that ionization switches the preferred ion-ligand binding motif from π to hydrogen bonding.

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The S1-S0 resonant enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) spectrum as well as the infrared (IR) spectra in the S0 and S1 states of 4-aminobenzonitrile (4ABN) and its van der Waals complex with Ar (4ABN-Ar) were measured by means of IR depletion spectroscopy (REMPI-IR). The IR spectrum of 4ABN-Ar in S0 shows symmetric and antisymmetric NH stretching vibrations (ν(s) and ν(a)) of the amino group at the same positions as those in the 4ABN monomer. This suggests that the Ar ligand locates above the benzene ring by van der Waals interactions (π-bound). The same coincidence of vibrational frequencies was found in S1, and the π-bound geometry was kept by the electronic excitation. The REMPI-IR spectrum of 4ABN(+)-Ar was also measured, and three major vibrational transitions were found. From the comparison to the IR dissociation spectrum with an electron impact source (EI-IR), they were assigned to ν(s), ν(a) and an NH-bending overtone of the π-bound structure. It is concluded that photoionization of 4ABN(+)-Ar does not promote site-switching of Ar from the π-site to the H-site.

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The structures, binding energies, and vibrational and electronic spectra of various isomers of neutral and ionic phenol-Ar(n) clusters with n ≤ 4, PhOH((+))-Ar(n), are characterized by quantum chemical calculations. The properties in the neutral and ionic ground electronic states (S(0), D(0)) are determined at the M06-2X/aug-cc-pVTZ level, whereas the S(1) excited state of the neutral species is investigated at the CC2/aug-cc-pVDZ level. The Ar complexation shifts calculated for the S(1) origin and the adiabatic ionisation potential, ΔS(1) and ΔIP, sensitively depend on the Ar positions and thus the sequence of filling the first Ar solvation shell. The calculated shifts confirm empirical additivity rules for ΔS(1) established recently from experimental spectra and enable thus a firm assignment of various S(1) origins to their respective isomers. A similar additivity model is newly developed for ΔIP using the M06-2X data. The isomer assignment is further confirmed by Franck-Condon simulations of the intermolecular vibrational structure of the S(1) ← S(0) transitions. In neutral PhOH-Ar(n), dispersion dominates the attraction and π-bonding is more stable than H-bonding. The solvation sequence of the most stable isomers is derived as (10), (11), (30), and (31) for n ≤ 4, where (km) denotes isomers with k and m Ar ligands binding above and below the aromatic plane, respectively. The π interaction is somewhat stronger in the S(1) state due to enhanced dispersion forces. Similarly, the H-bond strength increases in S(1) due to the enhanced acidity of the OH proton. In the PhOH(+)-Ar(n) cations, H-bonds are significantly stronger than π-bonds due to additional induction forces. Consequently, one favourable solvation sequence is derived as (H00), (H10), (H20), and (H30) for n ≤ 4, where (Hkm) denotes isomers with one H-bound ligand and k and m π-bonded Ar ligands above and below the aromatic plane, respectively. Another low-energy solvation motif for n = 2 is denoted (11)(H) and involves nonlinear bifurcated H-bonding to both equivalent Ar atoms in a C(2v) structure in which the OH group points toward the midpoint of an Ar(2) dimer in a T-shaped fashion. This dimer core can also be further solvated by π-bonded ligands leading to the solvation sequence (H00), (11)(H), (21)(H), and (22) for n ≤ 4. The implications of the ionisation-induced π → H switch in the preferred interaction motif on the isomerisation and fragmentation processes of PhOH((+))-Ar(n) are discussed in the light of the new structural and energetic cluster parameters.

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Electronic excitation spectra of the S(1)← S(0) transition obtained by resonance-enhanced two-photon ionization (REMPI) are analysed for phenol-Ar(n) (PhOH-Ar(n)) clusters with n≤ 4. An additivity rule has been established for the S(1) origin shifts upon sequential complexation at various π binding sites, which has allowed for the identification of two less stable isomers not recognized previously, namely the (2/0) isomer for n = 2 and the (2/1) isomer for n = 3. Infrared (IR) spectra of neutral PhOH-Ar(n) and cationic PhOH(+)-Ar(n) clusters are recorded in the vicinity of the OH and CH stretch fundamentals (ν(OH), ν(CH)) in their S(0) and D(0) ground electronic states using IR ion dip spectroscopy. The small monotonic spectral redshifts Δν(OH) of about -1 cm(-1) per Ar atom observed for neutral PhOH-Ar(n) are consistent with π-bonded ligands. In contrast, the IR spectra of the PhOH(+)-Ar(n) cations generated by resonant photoionization of the neutral precursor display the signature of H-bonded isomers, suggesting that ionization triggers an isomerization reaction, in which one of the π-bonded Ar ligands moves to the more attractive OH site. The dynamics of this isomerization reaction is probed for PhOH(+)-Ar(3) by picosecond time-resolved IR spectroscopy. Ionization of the (3/0) isomer of PhOH(+)-Ar(3)(3π) with three π-bonded Ar ligands on the same side of the aromatic ring induces a π→ H switching reaction toward the PhOH(+)-Ar(3)(H/2π) isomer with a time constant faster than 3 ps. Fast intracluster vibrational energy redistribution prevents any H →π back reaction.