Formation of Host-Guest Complexes of β-Cyclodextrin and Perfluorooctanoic Acid

Structural characterization and dynamic properties of solid-state inclusion complexes of beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD) with perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) were investigated by F-19/C-13 solid-state and F-19/H-1 solution NMR spectroscopy. The complexes in the solid state were prepared using dissolution and slow cool methods, where thermal analyses (DSC and TGA), PXRD, and FT-IR results provided complementary support that inclusion complexes were formed between beta-CD and PFOA with variable stoichiometry and inclusion geometry. F-19 DP (direct polarization) and C-13 CP (cross-polarization) with magic-angle spinning (MAS) solids NMR, along with F-19/H-1 solution NMR were used to characterize the complexes in the solid and solution phases, respectively. The dynamics of the guest molecules in the inclusion complexes (ICs) were studied using variable temperature (VT) F-19 DP/MAS NMR experiments in the solid state. The guest molecules were observed to be in several different molecular environments, providing strong evidence of variable host-guest stoichiometry and inclusion geometry, in accordance with the preparation method of the complex and the conformational preference of PFOA. It was concluded from PXRD that beta-CD and PFOA form inclusion complexes with "channel-type" structures. Variable spin rate (VSR) F-19 DP/MAS NMR was used to assess the phase purity of the complexes, and it was revealed that slow cooling resulted in relatively pure phases. In the solution state, H-1 and F-19 NMR complexation-induced chemical shifts (CISs) of beta-CD and PFOA, respectively, provided strong support for the formation of 1:1 and 2:1 beta-CD/PFOA inclusion complexes. The dynamics of the guest molecule in the beta-CD/PFOA complexes in D2O solutions were probed using VT F-19 NMR and revealed some guest conformational and exchange dynamics as a function of temperature and the relative concentrations of the host and guest.