Solvation of LiClO4 and NaClO4 in deuterated acetonitrile studied by means of infrared and Raman spectroscopy.

Vibrational characteristics of CD3CN solutions of LiClO4 and NaClO4 have been studied by means of infrared and Raman spectroscopy. Blue shifts of 22 and 11 cm(-1) of the v2 C[triple bond]N stretch are observed resulting from interaction of CD3CN with Li+ and Na+, respectively. The number of primary solvation sites of both Li+ and Na+ in acetonitrile is believed to be four from the comparison of the Raman intensities of the C[triple bond]N stretch for free CD3CN and those coordinated to Li+ and Na+. Evidently formation of contact ion pairs of the cation (Li+ or Na+) and anion (ClO4-) is more probable at a higher concentration of the salt. The characteristics of the v2 C[triple bond]N stretch, v4 C-C stretch, and v8 CCN deformation bands vary substantially upon coordination, while other vibrational bands are relatively immune to the donor-acceptor interaction. DFT calculations have also been performed at the BLYP/6-31 + G(2d,p) level to examine the structures and vibrational characteristics of CD3CN coordinated to Li+ and Na+. The calculated results are in good agreement with the observed vibrational characteristics.