Solvation of Manganese(III) Ion in Water and in Ammonia

In this work, we have studied the solvation of manganese(III) ion in water and in ammonia using three levels of theory: MP2, MN15, and ωB97XD associated with the aug-cc-pVDZ basis set. The studied systems are constituted of Mn³⁺(H₂O)₆ and Mn³⁺(NH₃)₆ in gas and solvent phases as well as Mn³⁺(H₂O)₁₈ and Mn³⁺(NH₃)₁₈ in the gas phase. Four aspects of the solvation of manganese(III) ion have been examined for the aforementioned systems at the three levels of theory. First, we started by locating the Jahn-Teller elongated and compressed configuration in Mn³⁺(H₂O)₆ and Mn³⁺(NH₃)₆. Second, we calculated the spin state energies and the spin state free energies for temperatures ranging from 50 to 400 K to look at possible spin crossover in the studied systems. Third, we carried out a quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) analysis, and we determined the ionic radii of manganese(III) ion in water and in ammonia. Fourth, we calculated the solvation free energies and the solvation enthalpies of manganese(III) ion in water and in ammonia using the cluster continuum solvation model. For these four aspects of the solvation of manganese(III) ion, most of the reported properties are provided in this work for the first time. We particularly found that the calculated solvation enthalpy of the manganese(III) ion in water is in good agreement with an experimental estimate.