Study of hydration of sarcosine, formation of its zwitterion and their different oligomers in aqueous media: a Raman spectroscopic and theoretical study.

Raman spectra of the biologically important molecule sarcosine (SAR) (C3H7NO2) were studied experimentally in aqueous solution at different concentrations. These spectra were also calculated theoretically using density functional theory (DFT) at the B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) level. Further, all the observed normal modes were assigned through potential energy distribution (PED). Geometry optimization of SAR produced its three conformers with slightly different energies. The lowest energy conformer of SAR was selected for a systematic solvation study wherein different numbers of water molecules (nW, n=1-9) were placed near it. In the SAR-9W complex, the SAR molecule is located almost at the center of the cage of 9 water molecules. Geometries of different oligomers of SAR (dimer, trimer, tetramer and pentamer) were also optimized in aqueous media taking the input structures from crystallographic data and using the polarizable continuum (PCM). Proton transfer required for the formation of the zwitterionic form of SAR was found to occur when the number of water molecules in the first hydration shell was six or more.