Density Functional Theory and QT Atoms-in-Molecules Study on the Hydration of Cu(I) and Ag(I) Ions and Sulfides
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abstract
The hydrates of Cu+, Ag+, CuS-, AgS-, Cu2S, and Ag2S were investigated with density functional theory (DFT), solvent field, and atoms-in-molecules (QTAIM) calculations. We found that covalent bonding of the first-shell water molecules to the metals plays a significant role in the total solvation energy. Molecular graphs were obtained and the bonding characterized by analysis of the electron density and its laplacian at bond critical points. Long-range electrostatic interactions between solute and the bulk solvent, quantified by solvent-field calculations, are more important for hydrated anions CuS- and AgS- than for Cu+ and Ag+ as well as for the neutral species Cu2S and Ag2S. Computed enthalpies of formation for hydrated Cu+ and Ag+ correlated well with experimentally determined values and allowed us to characterize the structures of several hydrates studied in the gas phase. We found that the stability of the hydrates is leveled in the water solvent field. The reactions of dissociation and substitution of metal sulfides in the gas phase and in solution were compared. A decrease in the of energy of the reactions in going from the gas phase to solution is explained on the basis of the higher coordination of metal atoms in the first hydration shell.
