Theoretical evidence of charge transfer interaction between SO2 and deep eutectic solvents formed by choline chloride and glycerol

The nature of the interaction between deep eutectic solvents (DESs), formed by ChCl and glycerol, and SO2 has been systematically investigated using the M06-2X density functional combined with cluster models. Block-localized wave function energy decomposition (BLW-ED) analysis shows that the interaction between SO2 and DESs is dominated by a charge transfer interaction. After this interaction, the SO2 molecule becomes negatively charged, whereas the ChCl–glycerol molecule is positively charged, which is the result of Lewis acid–base interaction. The current result affords a theoretical proof that it is highly useful and efficient to manipulate the Lewis acidity of absorbents for SO2 capture. Moreover, hydrogen bonding as well as electrostatic interactions may also contribute to the stability of the complex. Structure analysis shows that solvent molecules will adjust their geometries to interact with SO2. In addition, the structure of SO2 is barely changed after interaction. The interaction energy between different cluster models and SO2 ranges from −6.8 to −14.4 kcal mol−1. It is found that the interaction energy is very sensitive to the solvent structure. The moderate interaction between ChCl–glycerol and SO2 is consistent with the concept that highly efficient solvents for SO2 absorption should not only be solvable but also regenerable.