Adsorption of 2-chloropyridine on oxides--an infrared spectroscopic study.

The adsorption of 2-chloropyridine on SiO(2), TiO(2), ZrO(2), SiO(2)-Al(2)O(3) and H-mordenite has been studied by IR spectroscopy. The different modes of interaction with oxide surfaces, i.e. hydrogen-bonding and adsorption at Brønsted or Lewis acid sites, was modelled by ab initio calculations at the B3LYP/DZ+(d) level. Adsorption on SiO(2) results in hydrogen bonding to surface hydroxyl groups, whereas the spectra obtained following adsorption on TiO(2) and ZrO(2) display evidence for electron transfer at Lewis acidic surface sites. Protonation of 2-chloropyridine at Brønsted acidic sites was detected only for adsorption on SiO(2)-Al(2)O(3) and H-mordenite, indicating the presence of Brønsted acidic sites on these oxide surfaces with pK(a) values </=0.70. IR studies of 2-chloropyridine adsorption can provide useful information regarding the nature of surface acidity on oxides which is complementary to that obtained from other probe molecules such as NHs and pyridine.