Abstract.
Water solvation effects on theoretical binding energies of the tetramethylammonium cation with benzene, phenol and indole have been analyzed as a prototype of biological cation–π interactions. Solvent effects were introduced in the quantum chemical computations either by considering molecules belonging to the first solvation of the tetramethylammonium or by a polarizable continuum model. Our results show that the calculated binding energies are reduced by about three quarters with respect to the corresponding gas-phase results, but the sequence benzene<phenol<indole is preserved, in accordance with the concept of cation–π interactions. Similar results are obtained for the interaction of tetramethylammonium with the benzene–indole pair.
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Acknowledgments.
ensp;We thank A. Pullman for suggesting this study to us and scrutinizing our conclusions carefully. The Institut de Developpement et Ressources en Informatique Scientifique (IDRIS-CNRS) is also acknowledged for the generous allocation of computer time.
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Adamo, C., Berthier, G. & Savinelli, R. Solvation effects on cation–π interactions: a test study involving the quaternary ammonium ion. Theor Chem Acc 111, 176–181 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00214-003-0507-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00214-003-0507-6