Complexes of tris(2-ethylhexyl) phosphate (EHPO) with
HAuCl4 and its hydrates with various amounts
of
water were studied by FT-IR spectroscopy. In the water free
solution of HAuCl4 in EHPO homoconjugated
PO···H+···OP hydrogen bonds with proton
polarizability are formed. We demonstrate that in the
1:1
and 1:2 mixture with water only the
H5O2
+ species is present and no
H3O+ species is formed. In the
1:1
mixture with water in addition to the
H5O2
+ species, 50%
homoconjugated hydrogen bonds of protonated
EHPO are still present. This homoconjugated hydrogen bond, as well
as the central bond in H5O2
+
shows
large proton polarizability, as indicated by IR continua. In the
1:3 mixture of the homoconjugated complex
with water a cyclic hydrogen-bonded system with a three-minima proton
potential is present. The proton
polarizability of this system is the largest, as indicated by a
particularly intense IR continuum. In the case
of the 1:4 mixture, a cyclic hydrogen-bonded arrangement with a
four-minima proton potential is present, in
which the barriers between the minima are larger than in the
three-minima potential.