Microsolvation of the pyrrole cation (Py+) with nonpolar and polar ligands: infrared spectra of Py+–Ln with L = Ar, N2, and H2O (n ≤ 3)

IR spectra and dispersion-corrected density functional calculations of pyrrole cluster ions with Ar, N2, and H2O reveal the competition between H-bonding and π-stacking motifs of this prototypical heterocyclic aromatic cation in a hydrophobic and hydrophilic solvent.