Solvent effect on cation–π interactions with Al3+

Cation–π interactions are known to be one of the strongest noncovalent forces in the gas phase, but they rarely occur in a fully solvated environment. The present work used two different ab initio molecular dynamics-based approaches to describe the correlation between the strength of the cation–π interactions and the number of water molecules surrounding the cation. Five different complexes between an aluminum cation and different molecules containing aromatic rings were studied, and the degree of hydration of each complex was varied. Results indicated that cation–π interactions vanish when the aluminum cation is surrounded by more than three water molecules. The results also highlighted the influence of –OH ligands on the interaction strength.