title: Non-covalent interactions of nitrous oxide with aromatic compounds: spectroscopic and computational evidence for the formation of 1:1 complexes.
abstract: We present the first study of intermolecular interactions between nitrous oxide (N2O) and three representative aromatic compounds (ACs): phenol, cresol, and toluene. The infrared spectroscopic experiments were performed in a Ne matrix and were supported by high-level quantum chemical calculations. Comparisons of the calculated and experimental vibrational spectra provide direct identification and characterization of the 1:1 N2O-AC complexes. Our results show that N2O is capable of forming non-covalently bonded complexes with ACs. Complex formation is dominated by dispersion forces, and the interaction energies are relatively low (about -3 kcal mol(-1)); however, the complexes are clearly detected by frequency shifts of the characteristic bands. These results suggest that N2O can be bound to the amino-acid residues tyrosine or phenylalanine in the form of π complexes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, P.O. Box 55, University of Helsinki, Helsinki FI-00014, Finland.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA.
authors.forename: Gennady Y
authors.initials: GY
authors.lastname: Gor
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08903, USA.
authors.forename: Karsten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Krogh-Jespersen
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, P.O. Box 55, University of Helsinki, Helsinki FI-00014, Finland.
authors.forename: Leonid
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Khriachtchev