Dynamical structures of glycol and ethanedithiol examined by infrared spectroscopy, ab initio computation, and molecular dynamics simulations.

Infrared (IR) experiment, ab initio computations, and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were used to examine the dynamical structures of ethylene glycol (EG) and 1,2-ethanedithiol (EDT) in carbon tetrachloride and deuterated chloroform. Using the O-H and S-H stretching modes as structural probes, EG and EDT were found to exhibit different conformational preferences, even though they share similar molecular formula. Results suggest that the gauche conformation of EG presents and is stabilized by the intramolecular hydrogen bond (IHB), while both the trans and gauche EDT are possible in the two solvents. Exchangeable IHB donor and acceptor pairs were predicted in the case of EG. Anharmonic vibrational frequencies, anharmonicities, and couplings of the O-H and S-H stretching modes were predicted and found to be structurally dependent. Linear IR and two-dimensional IR spectra containing these structural signatures were simulated and discussed. These results demonstrate that a combination of the methods used here is very useful in revealing structural dynamics of small molecules in condensed phases.