Interaction of Ag+ with corannulene: Experimental and theoretical study

By using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), it was proven experimentally that the silver cation Ag+ forms with corannulene (C20H10) the cationic complex [Ag(C20H10)(2)](+). Further, applying quantum chemical DFT calculations, the most probable structures of the [Ag(C20H10)(2)](+) complex were derived. In the resulting complex the central cation Ag+, is located between two molecules of the corannulene ligand. Finally, the interaction energy, E(int), of the considered cation-pi complex [Ag(C20H10)(2)](+) was found to be -335.0 to -306.9 kJ/mol.

Automated summary

Experimental evidence showed that the silver cation Ag+ forms a cationic complex [Ag(C20H10)(2)](+) with corannulene, and the most probable structure of the complex was derived using DFT calculations. The central cation Ag+ is positioned between two molecules of the corannulene ligand in the resulting complex, with an interaction energy, E(int), of -335.0 to -306.9 kJ/mol.