Vibrational Signatures of Electronic Properties in Oxidized Water: Unraveling the Anomalous Spectrum of the Water Dimer Cation

Abstract

The water dimer cation, (H2O)2+, has long served as a prototypical reference system for water oxidation chemistry. In spite of this status, a definitive explanation for the anomalous—and dominant—features in the experimental vibrational spectrum [Gardenier, G. H.; Johnson, M. A.; McCoy, A. B. J. Phys. Chem. A, 2009, 113, 4772–4779] has not been determined, and harmonic analyses qualitatively fail to reproduce these features. In this computational study, accurate quantum chemistry methods are combined with a fully coupled, six-dimensional anharmonic model to show that the unassigned bands are the result of resonant mode interactions and strong anharmonic coupling. Such coupling is fundamentally due to the unique electronic structure of this open-shell ion and the manner in which auxiliary modes affect the natural charge-transfer properties of the shared-proton stretch. These unique vibrational signatures provide a key reference point for modern spectroscopic and mechanistic analyses of water-oxidation catalysts.