Abstract
The adsorption behavior of the amino acid glycine in mesoporous silica has been investigated using a combination of quantum chemical calculations and NMR spectroscopy experiments. Glycine adsorption on two representative sites of an amorphous silica surface, vicinal silanols and a silanol nest, was investigated by DFT-D. The effect of water coadsorption on the energetics of adsorption and NMR shifts was characterized. It was found that the silanol nest is a more favorable site for glycine adsorption due to a local increased H-bond density. Co-adsorption with water is also favored, especially a water molecule between a SiOH and the ammonium moiety. NMR chemical shifts computed on these models fall into the observed 13C and 15N experimental range, suggesting that the presence of different energetically comparable adsorption configurations cannot be excluded.