BARC/PUB/2015/0280

 
 

Hydrogen Bonds and Ionic Forms versus Polymerization of Imidazole at High Pressures

 
     
 
Author(s)

Sharma, B. B.; Verma, A. K.; Thomas, S.; Murli, C.; Sharma, S. M.
(HP&SRPD)

Source

Journal of Physical Chemistry-B, 2015. Vol. 119 (1): pp. 372-378

ABSTRACT

Imidazole (C3H4N2) is an important biomaterial for material research and applications. Our high-pressure Raman spectroscopic investigations combined with ab initio calculations on crystalline imidazole suggest that C−H---X (X = N,π) and N−H---N intermolecular hydrogen bonding interactions largely influence the nature of its structural and polymeric transformations under pressure. At pressures around ∼10 GPa, the reduction in the N---N distances close to the symmetrization limit and the emergence of the spectral features of the cationic form indicate the onset of proton disorder. The pressure-induced strengthening of the “blue-shifting hydrogen bonds” C−H---X (X = N, π) in this compound is revealed by the Raman spectra and the ab initio calculations. No polymer phase was retrieved on release from the highest pressure of 20 GPa in this study.

 
 
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