Interaction between anions and naphthalendiimides

Abstract

The process of anion transport trough a synthetic ion channel based in anion···π interactions is studied by means of computational methods. Employing two models for the units forming the channel, the calculations indicate that stable complexes are formed with any of bromide, chloride, fluoride or hydroxide anions. All these complexes exhibit strong interactions in the gas phase. When studied in water no favourable complexation was obtained for any of the anions studied, so anion···π interactions, though strong, are not capable of overcoming the cost of anion dehydration. However, it has been found that a process of hydroxide displacement by another anion is indeed favourable in water