Adsorption of dimethyl methylphosphonate and trimethyl phosphate on calcium oxide: An ab initio study

Ab initio study of the adsorption of dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP) and trimethyl phosphate (TMP) on three types of models simulating the calcium oxide surface (non-hydroxylated Ca₄O₄, completely hydroxylated Ca₄O₄(OH)₂H₂, and partially hydroxylated Ca₄O₄(OH)H) was performed. The target molecule and the surface hydroxyl groups were optimized while the CaO fragment was kept frozen. The intermolecular interactions were investigated applying Bader's Atoms in Molecules theory. The maps of electrostatic potential of the studied adsorption systems were also produced. The interaction energies of studied adsorption systems corrected by the basis set superposition error were obtained. The most energetically favorable adsorption of DMMP and TMP was found at the configuration where the oxygen atoms of the P=O and methoxy groups point toward the Ca cation of the surface. The P atom points toward the O atom of the surface and forms a P-O chemical bond. This configuration was revealed for the non-hydroxylated and partially hydroxylated CaO-DMMP and CaO-TMP systems. The presence and number of surface hydroxyl groups on the CaO models play a key role in the adsorption of the studied compounds. DMMP and TMP were found to be much less stable on the completely hydroxylated CaO surface where they are adsorbed only via weak electrostatic interactions and H-bonding to the surface oxygen atoms and hydroxyl groups. TMP was found to be slightly more stable on this type of surface than DMMP. The difference in stability is even larger if one compares this TMP system with the complex of tabun adsorbed on completely hydroxylated CaO surface model (Michalkova et al. Chem Phys Lett 438:72, 2007).