Do Material Discontinuities in Silica Affect Vibration Modes

Structural properties of bioinorganic composites are of current interest in the areas of drug delivery, bone repair and biomimetics. In such composite systems, structural analysis is enhanced when we combine methods of spectroscopy and simulation. Depending on size and shape, structural discontinuities of inorganic matter may modulate the optical response of a bound molecule. Using Density Functional Theory we explore the effects of a local field next to the surface of a silica cluster on frequencies of methyl stretching modes of associated methanols. Computation results predict that the electrostatic potential modulated by structural discontinuities of silica should not contribute to any systematic frequency shifts for normal modes of a guest molecule. Regardless of position, the methyl stretching modes of methanol demonstrate sensitivity only to the local chemistry of bonding with silanols, which may lead either to a low or to high frequency shift for vibrations. In support, experimental studies of deut...