Insights into the Effect of Charges on Hydrogen Bonds

Previous computational and experimental studies showed that charges located at the surroundings of hydrogen bonds can exert two opposite effects on them: rupture or strengthening of the hydrogen bond. This work aims to generalize the effect of charges in different hydrogen-bonded systems and to propose a coherent explanation of this effect. For these purposes, 19 systems with intra- and intermolecular hydrogen bonds were studied computationally with DFT. The FT-IR spectra of the systems were simulated, and two energy components of the hydrogen bond were studied separately to determine their variation upon the presence of a charge: charge transfer and molecular overlap. It was determined that either the breaking or strengthening of the hydrogen bond can be favored one over the other, for instance, depending on the heteroatom involved in the hydrogen bond. In addition, it is showed that the strengthening of the hydrogen bond by the presence of a charge is directly related to the decrease in charge transfer between the monomers, which is explained by an increase in molecular overlapping, suggesting a more covalent character of the interaction. The understanding of how hydrogen bonds are affected by charges is important, as it is a key towards a strategy to manipulate hydrogen bonds at convenience.