Theoretical and experimental study of the vibrational spectra of (para)symplesite and hörnesite.

Arsenate water-bearing minerals, hörnesite (Alsar, Macedonia) and symplesite (Laubach, Germany), were studied by vibrational (IR and Raman) spectroscopy and X-ray powder diffraction. The observed vibrational spectra in both the high (1100-600 cm(-1)) and low (600-450 cm(-1)) wavenumber regions of AsO4 and H2O vibrations could be used to discriminate the two studied minerals. Spectral differences are especially pronounced in the bending and stretching regions of the H2O vibrations in the IR spectra. The observed bands in IR and Raman spectra were tentatively assigned. To support the assignment, IR spectra were theoretically simulated. These calculations were performed using the crystal structure of parasymplesite (no structural information of symplesite has been published so far) and hörnesite using a 3D periodic plane-wave pseudopotential density functional theory approach applying various combinations of exchange-correlation functionals. In this article, we report on the first experimental study of the vibrational spectra of the very rare symplesite mineral.

Theoretical and experimental study of the vibrational spectra of sarkinite Mn2(AsO4)(OH) and adamite Zn2(AsO4)(OH).

The arsenate hydroxyl-bearing minerals sarkinite and adamite were studied with vibrational spectroscopic (IR and Raman) and quantum theoretical methods. The observed IR bands in the higher (1100-600 cm(-1)) and especially lower (600-450 cm(-1)) frequency region of AsO4 vibrations could clearly discriminate between the studied analogues. The differences between their crystal structures are much pronounced in both IR and Raman OH-stretching regions. Namely, a single strong band is found in the case of orthorhombic adamite compared to four weaker bands observed in corresponding IR and Raman spectral regions of monoclinic sarkinite. Essentially all bands in the experimental spectra, collected at both room and liquid nitrogen temperature, were tentatively assigned. To support the tentative assignment of bands in the vibrational spectra of the mentioned minerals, periodic pseudopotential plane wave density functional theory calculations were carried out. Geometry optimizations of the 3D periodic systems included both optimizations of the atomic positions within the unit cell and of the unit cell itself. In most cases, the assignments were either supported or implied by the obtained theoretical data. It is worth mentioning that this is the first experimental and theoretical study of the vibrational spectra of the very-rare sarkinite mineral.

Visualization of a discrete solid-state process with steady-state X-ray diffraction: observation of hopping of sulfur atoms in single crystals of realgar.

A molecular movie showing migration of a sulfur atom between molecules of realgar (alpha-As(4)S(4)) was obtained by a series of structure determinations of the dark stage of this all-solid autocatalytic reaction set.

Minerals from Macedonia XXIII. Spectroscopic and structural characterization of schorl and beryl cyclosilicates.

IR and Raman spectroscopy study on two collected cyclosilicate species: schorl (from tourmaline group), Na(Fe,Mg)(3)Al(6)(BO(3))(3)Si(6)O(18)(OH,F)(4) and beryl (Be,Mg,Fe)(3)Al(2)Si(6)O(18) were carried out. Although beryl is nominally anhydrous mineral, vibrational results strongly indicate that H(2)O molecules exist in the structural channels. The number of vibrational bands and their frequencies revealed the presence of H(2)O type II, in which C(2) symmetry axis of the water molecule is parallel to the structural channel (and to the c-axis of beryl). On the other hand, it was found that observed bands in the IR and Raman OH stretching region of the other tourmaline varieties appear as a result of the cation combinations involving dominant presence of Mg and Fe cations in the Y structural sites. The strong indication derived from the vibrational spectroscopic results that the studied mineral represents a schorl variety, coincide very well with the results obtained by powder X-ray diffraction and X-ray microprobe analysis. Both minerals show IR spectral similarities in the region below 1500 cm(-1), whereas the resemblance between the Raman spectra (1500-100 cm(-1)) is less expressed confirming that these spectra are more sensitive to compositional changes and to structural disorder. The identification of both minerals was additionally supported by studying the powder X-ray diffraction diagrams.

Solid-state forms of sodium valproate, active component of the anticonvulsant drug epilim.

The results of the first detailed and systematic investigation of the solid-state forms of sodium valproate, one of the most potent and widely used anticonvulsant medicines, are presented. By using wet and dry methods, eight solid forms of varying stability in air were obtained and characterized. Three extremely hygroscopic polycrystalline hydrates, Na(C8H15O2) X H2O (form A), Na(C8H15O2) X xH2O (form B), and Na(C8H15O2) X yH2O (form D), three acid-stabilized stoichiometric solvates, Na3(C8H15O2)3(C8H16O2)H2O (form C), Na(C8H15O2)(C8H16O2) (form E), and Na3(C8H15O2)3(C8H16O2) X 2H2O (form F), the pure anhydrous salt Na(C8H15O2) (form H), and an additional unstable thermal intermediate Na3(C8H15O2)3(C8H16O2)0.5 (form G) were prepared. Under ambient conditions, forms A and B as well as the commercially available compound appear as very hygroscopic white powders. Form C is less hygroscopic, while forms E and F are stable and are not hygroscopic. Partial stabilization of forms A and B can be achieved by evacuation and pressing, which results in a lower hydrate D, or after a heating-cooling cycle, resulting in crystallization of the anhydrous salt H. Addition of one molecule of valproic acid and saturation with one molecule of water of forms A and B results in the less hygroscopic form C. Addition to form C of a second water molecule affords form F, which is not hygroscopic and is indefinitely stable. The symmetric structure and medium alkyl chain length of the valproate ion are some of the probable reasons for the presence of a number of solid solvates: in its most stable conformation, the valproate ion cannot simultaneously pack efficiently and interact strongly through the negatively charged carboxylate group without leaving voids in the crystalline lattice. The conformational flexibility of the aliphatic chains probably aids the penetration of water molecules, which results in a strong affinity for the absorption of water.

Direct atomic scale observation of linkage isomerization of As4S4 clusters during the photoinduced transition of realgar to pararealgar.

The reaction mechanism underlying the photoinduced linkage isomerization of discrete arsenic-sulfur clusters in the realgar form of tetraarsenic tetrasulfide (alpha-As4S4) to its pararealgar form was studied on a natural specimen of the mineral with a combination of in situ single-crystal X-ray photodiffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The photodiffraction technique provided direct atomic resolution evidence of formation of intermediate As4S5 phase in which half of the realgar molecule is retained in its envelope-type conformation, while the other half is transformed by effective switching of positions of one sulfur and one arsenic atom. The initiation and propagation stages of the process are studied under light and dark conditions, during and after photoexcitation with polychromatic visible light. In the "light" reaction stage, the interatomic and cell parameters averaged over the crystal volume and photoexcitation time remain almost unchanged. The residual electron density features are indicative for formation of a small amount of As4S5 clusters, which at this stage do not affect the overall crystalline order. In the "dark" reaction stage, a set of self-sustainable autocatalytic reactions results in strong and nearly isotropic expansion of the unit cell. The structure in the dark stage represents direct evidence of formation of pararealgar which was obtained in yield of about 5% in the single crystal of realgar. The cell expansion is due to increased mole ratio of clusters of pararealgar relative to realgar and to increased intercluster separation. Due to lattice incompatibility, a higher content of the product results in progressive decrease of crystal quality. Creation of small amount of arsenolite (As2O3) which appears as byproduct in the light stage and remains unreacted in the product mixture was confirmed by far-IR spectroscopy.

Anharmonicity of water stretching vibrations in series of isomorphous crystalline hydrates Copper and manganese saccharinates hexahydrates.

On the basis of the experimentally obtained frequencies of isotopically isolated OH and OD species, the anharmonicity constants, as well as the harmonic eigenvalues of the OH and OD stretching vibrations for two members of the isomorphous series of metal(II) saccharinates hexahydrates (those of Mn and Cu) were calculated using several theoretical models [B. Berglund, J. Lindgren, J. Tegenfeldt, J. Mol. Struct. 43 (1978) 169, M.G. Sceats, S.A. Rice, J. Chem. Phys. 71 (1979) 973, H. Engstrom, J.B. Bates, L.A. Boatner, J. Chem. Phys. 73 (1980) 1073]. The anharmonicity constants and the nu(OH)/nu(OD) isotopic ratios correlate well with the stretching frequencies of the isotopically isolated OH and OD oscillators. Both anharmonicity constants and isotopic ratios as criteria for the anharmonicity of the OH (OD) vibrations show that, with a very few exceptions, it increases with the increase in the hydrogen bond strength. The exceptions from the trend are explained in terms of local electrostatic field differences and force constant changes due to the coordination to the metal ion. The obtained regression equations were used to predict the anharmonicity constants of the nu(OD) modes in other members of the series. Within the three-particle model of the hydrogen bonded complex, the parameters characterising the coupling of the nu(OH)/nu(OD)/modes with the low-frequency nu(Ocdots, three dots, centeredO) ones were estimated. The positions of the overtones of OH and OD stretching vibrations in the compounds of copper and manganese were estimated using the calculated anharmonicity parameters. The predicted values for the OD oscillators were compared with the experimentally obtained data. Model calculations of the described type are shown to be valuable in the assignment of the second-order transitions, especially in complex systems.

Vibrational studies of the solid imidazole and pyridine adducts of metal(II) saccharinates. III. Zn(II) and Hg(II) imidazole saccharinates.

Adducts of bis(o-sulfobenzimidato)zinc(II) and mercury(II) with imidazole are synthesized for the first time and their mid-infrared vibrational spectra at ambient conditions and at 77 K are coupled with the earlier spectra-structural inferences to predict aspects of the respective solid-state structures. The spectrum of the H2O-matrix isolated OD fundamentals in the hydrated zinc compound is also investigated. The structure of the latter adduct contrasts the octahedral isostructural tetrad of mixed imidazole-saccharinates [M(H2O)2(C3H4N2)4](C7H4NO3S)2 [M = Mn(II), Fe(II), Co(II) and Ni(II)] in that it bears only a single crystallographic type of hydrogen bonded C2v water molecules and at least two structurally different o-sulfobenzimidate ligands, some of them likely utilized in a bridging fashion. The rotation and the partial ionic character of a pair of N-monodentate o-sulfobenzimidato ligands placed about 212-214 pm from the metal accommodates another pair of imidazole molecules in the tetrahedral arrangement around the metal in the neutral unhydrous mercury complex.