Electron-Driven Acid-Base Chemistry: Proton Transfer from Hydrogen Chloride to Ammonia
- 15 February 2008
- journal article
- other
- Published by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Science
- Vol. 319 (5865), 936-939
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1151614
Abstract
In contrast to widely familiar acid-base behavior in solution, single molecules of NH 3 and HCl do not react to form the ionic salt, NH + 4 Cl – , in isolation. We applied anion photoelectron spectroscopy and ab initio theory to investigate the interaction of an excess electron with the hydrogen-bonded complex NH 3 ···HCl. Our results show that an excess electron induces this complex to form the ionic salt. We propose a mechanism that proceeds through a dipole-bound state to form the negative ion of ionic ammonium chloride, a species that can also be characterized as a deformed Rydberg radical, NH 4 , polarized by a chloride anion, Cl – .Keywords
This publication has 25 references indexed in Scilit:
- Proton-coupled electron transfer: the mechanistic underpinning for radical transport and catalysis in biologyPhilosophical Transactions B, 2006
- Anion of the formic acid dimer as a model for intermolecular proton transfer induced by a π* excess electronThe Journal of Chemical Physics, 2005
- AT Base Pair Anions versus (9-Methyl-A)(1-Methyl-T) Base Pair AnionsJournal of the American Chemical Society, 2005
- Formation of ammonium halide particles from pure ammonia and hydrogen halide gases: A theoretical study on small molecular clusters (NH3–HX)n (n=1, 2, 4; X=F, Cl, Br)The Journal of Chemical Physics, 2001
- Direct formation of solid ammonium chloride particles from HCl and NH3 vaporsThe Journal of Chemical Physics, 1999
- Proton transfer reaction of hydrogen chloride with ammonia: is it possible in the gas phase?Chemical Physics Letters, 1998
- Prediction and observation of a new, ground state, dipole-bound dimer anion: The mixed water/ammonia systemPhysical Review Letters, 1994
- The nature of ammonium and methylammonium halides in the vapour phase: hydrogen bonding versus proton transferChemical Society Reviews, 1993
- Nature, geometry, and binding strength of the ammonia–hydrogen chloride dimer determined from the rotational spectrum of ammonium chloride vaporThe Journal of Chemical Physics, 1988
- Rydberg MoleculesAnnual Review of Physical Chemistry, 1987