Relaxation dynamics in (HF)x(H2O)1-x solutions

The high-frequency dynamics of (HF)(x)(H(2)O)(1-x) solutions has been investigated by inelastic x-ray scattering. The measurements have been performed as a function of the concentration in the range x = 0.20-0.73 at fixed temperature T = 283 K. The results have been compared with similar data in pure water (x = 0) and pure hydrogen fluoride (x = 1). A viscoelastic analysis of the data highlights the presence of a relaxation process characterized by a relaxation time and a strength directly related to the presence of a hydrogen-bond network in the system. The comparison with the data on water and hydrogen fluoride shows that the structural relaxation time continuously decreases at increasing concentration of hydrogen fluoride passing from the value for water to the one for hydrogen fluoride tau(alphaHF), which is three times smaller. This is the consequence of a gradual decreasing number of constraints of the hydrogen-bond networks in passing from one liquid to the other.     

Effects of concentration on the microwave dielectric spectra of aqueous urea solutions

Several models of relaxation for the dielectric spectra of aqueous urea solutions in the microwave region are compared. The spectra are shown to contain two main Debye components arising from the rotational motions of urea and water molecules. Two essentially different concentration regions in urea solutions are identified. The first is characterized by a small increase in the mobility of water molecules (τ₁ = 7.8 ps) and the existence of hydrated urea molecules (τ₂ = 19 ps). Due to the aggregation of urea molecules, the relaxation times for the latter process grow considerably in highly concentrated solutions. At the same time, faster molecular motions (τ₃ = 6 ps) are observed for water molecules.     

Apparent Molar Volume, Isentropic Compressibility, Refractive Index, and Viscosity of DL-Alanine in Aqueous NaCl Solutions

New experimental data at 25^°C for the density, velocity of sound, refractive index, and viscosity of aqueous solutions of DL-alanine and NaCl are reported. The apparent molar volume and isentropic compressibility of DL-alanine in aqueous electrolyte solutions have been calculated from the measured properties. The results show that DL-alanine exhibits a positive volume transfer to solutions of a higher NaCl concentration and a negative apparent isentropic compressibility for DL-alanine in the presence of NaCl. These effects indicate that the apparent volume of DL-alanine is larger in solutions with higher electrolyte concentration and the water molecules surrounding the DL-alanine molecules are less compressible than the water molecules in the bulk solution. The results also show an increase in the viscosity of the solution with an increase in both DL-alanine and NaCl concentrations. These effects are attributed to the two charged groups of DL-alanine and the interactions between the charged groups and the hydrocarbon backbone of DL-alanine with the ions. A model, consisting of a short-range interaction term represented by a virial expansion and a Debye-Hückel term that considers long-range interactions, has been developed to correlate the measured experimental data.     

The combined effect of cations and anions on the dynamics of water

We studied the orientational relaxation of the OD-stretch vibration of HDO molecules in concentrated solutions of alkali-halide salts (NaCl, NaI, CsCl and KI) in isotopically diluted water (4% D(2)O in H(2)O), using polarization-resolved femtosecond infrared pump-probe spectroscopy (fs-IR). We were able to distinguish the orientational dynamics of the water molecules solvating the halide ions from the dynamics of the bulk water and the water solvating the cations. We found that the reorientation of the halide-bound molecules shows two strongly different components (2.0 ± 0.3 ps and 9 ± 1 ps), related to a wiggling motion of the OD group hydrogen-bonded to the anion, and rotational diffusion of the molecule over the charged anion surface, respectively. The relative amplitudes of the two components are dependent on the nature of both the anion and cation, and on the concentration. These results show that cations can have a profound effect on the solvation shell dynamics of their counter-ions.     

Rotational dynamics of thiocyanate ions in highly concentrated aqueous solutions

The thiocyanate (SCN(-)) anion is known as one of the best denaturants, which is also capable of breaking the hydrogen-bond network of water and destabilizing native structures of proteins. Despite prolonged efforts to understand the underlying mechanism of such Hofmeister effects, detailed dynamics of the ions in a highly concentrated solution have not been fully elucidated yet. Here, we used a dispersive IR pump-probe spectroscopic method to study the dependence of vibrational lifetimes and rotational relaxation times of thiocyanate ions on KSCN concentration in D(2)O. The nitrile stretch mode is used as a vibrational probe for dispersed IR pump-probe and FTIR measurements. To avoid possible self-attenuation of the IR pump-probe signal by highly concentrated SCN(-) ions, we added a small amount of (13)C-isotope-labeled thiocyanate ions (S(13)CN(-)) and focused on the excited-state absorption contribution to the IR pump-probe signal of the (13)C-isotope-labeled nitrile stretch mode. Quite unexpectedly, the vibrational lifetime of S(13)CN(-) ions is independent of the total KSCN concentration in the range from 0.46 m (molality) to 11.8 m while the rotational relaxation time of S(13)CN(-) ions is linearly dependent on the total KSCN concentration. By combining the present experimental findings with the fact that the dissolved ions of KSCN salt have a strong tendency to form a large ion cluster in a highly concentrated aqueous solution, we believe that the ion clusters consisting of potassium and thiocyanate ion pairs in D(2)O behave like ionic liquids and the ions inside ion clusters are weakly bound by electrostatic Coulombic interactions. The ability of SCN(-) ions to form ion clusters in aqueous protein solutions seems to be a key to understand the Hofmeister ion effect. We anticipate that the present experimental results provide a clue for further elucidating the underlying mechanism of the Hofmeister ion effects on protein stability in the future.     

Hydration of poly(ethylene oxide)s in aqueous solution as studied by dielectric relaxation measurements

The hydration state of poly(ethylene oxide)s (PEOs) in aqueous solutions was investigated using dielectric relaxation measurements at 25 degrees C over a frequency range up to 20 GHz, which is the relaxation frequency of water molecules in a bulk state. The dielectric relaxation spectra obtained indicated decomposition into two major and one minor relaxation modes with relaxation times of 8.3, 22, and 250 ps, respectively. The two major modes were attributed to rotational relaxation of water molecules belonging to the bulk state and water molecules hydrogen bonded to ethylene oxide (EO) monomer units. The number of hydration water molecules per EO unit depended on the molar mass of PEO (M) and reached a constant value of 3.7 at M > 1500, which agrees with the value obtained by other experiments.     

Dynamics of Water in NaxCoO2.yH2O

Incoherent inelastic neutron scattering experiments were performed on Na0.7CoO2 and Na0.28CoO2.1.3H2O in order to understand how the dynamics of the hydrogen-bond network of water is modified in the triangular crystalline lattice NaxCoO2.yH2O. Using quasi-elastic neutron scattering (QENS), we were able to differentiate between two types of proton dynamics: a fast process (due to water strongly bound into the sodium cobalt oxyhydrate structure during the hydration process) and a slow process (likely attributable to a collective motion). High-resolution QENS experiments, carried out on Na0.28CoO2.1.3H2O, show that, at temperatures above 310 K, the water dynamics can be well-described by a random jump diffusion model characterized by a diffusion constant equal to 0.9 x 10(-9)m2/s, which is significantly lower than the rate of diffusion for bulk water. Furthermore, our results indicate that, at room temperature, the sodium ions have no influence on the rotational dynamics of the "fast" water molecules.     

Effects of hydrogen-bond environment on single particle and pair dynamics in liquid water

We have performed molecular dynamics simulations of liquid water at 298 and 258 K to investigate the effects of hydrogen-bond environment on various single-particle and pair dynamical properties of water molecules at ambient and supercooled conditions. The water molecules are modelled by the extended simple point charge (SPC/E) model. We first calculate the distribution of hydrogen-bond environment in liquid water at both temperatures and then investigate how the self-diffusion and orientational relaxation of a single water molecule and also the relative diffusion and relaxation of the hydrogen-bond of a water pair depend on the nature of the hydrogen-bond environment of the tagged molecules. We find that the various dynamical quantities depend significantly on the hydrogen-bond environment, especially at the supercooled temperature. The present study provides a molecular-level insight into the dynamics of liquid water under ambient and supercooled conditions.     

Dielectric properties of water/lecithin/cyclohexane gels

Dielectric relaxation measurements in the frequency range 0.1–15 GHz have been carried out on water/lecithin/cyclohexane gels using a time domain reflectometry method (TDR). Dielectric dispersions describable in terms of a power law typical of percolated systems, but with exponents significantly different from those characterizing statically or dynamically percolated systems are observed. The dielectric dispersions, attributed to water and/or lecithin head group rotational motions, indicate that these motions are characterized by a wide spectrum of relaxation times.     

Anomalous dielectric relaxation of water molecules at the surface of an aqueous micelle

Dielectric relaxation of aqueous solutions of micelles, proteins, and many complex systems shows an anomalous dispersion at frequencies intermediate between those corresponding to the rotational motion of bulk water and that of the organized assembly or macromolecule. The precise origin of this anomalous dispersion is not well-understood. In this work we employ large scale atomistic molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the dielectric relaxation (DR) of water molecules in an aqueous micellar solution of cesium pentadecafluorooctanoate. The simulations clearly show the presence of a slow component in the moment-moment time correlation function [PhiMW(t)] of water molecules, with a time constant of about 40 ps, in contrast to only 9 ps for bulk water. Interestingly, the orientational time correlation function [Cmu(t)] of individual water molecules at the surface exhibits a component with a time constant of about 19 ps. We show that these two time constants can be related by the well-known micro-macrorelations of statistical mechanics. In addition, the reorientation of surface water molecules exhibits a very slow component that decays with a time constant of about 500 ps. An analysis of hydrogen bond lifetime and of the rotational relaxation in the coordinate frame fixed on the micellar body seems to suggest that the 500 ps component owes its origin to the existence of an extended hydrogen bond network of water molecules at the surface. However, this ultraslow component is not found in the total moment-moment time correlation function of water molecules in the solution. The slow DR of hydration water is found to be well correlated with the slow solvation dynamics of cesium ions at the water-micelle interface.     

Vibrational and orientational dynamics of water in aqueous hydroxide solutions

We report the vibrational and orientational dynamics of water molecules in isotopically diluted NaOH and NaOD solutions using polarization-resolved femtosecond vibrational spectroscopy and terahertz time-domain dielectric relaxation measurements. We observe a speed-up of the vibrational relaxation of the O-D stretching vibration of HDO molecules outside the first hydration shell of OH(-) from 1.7 ± 0.2 ps for neat water to 1.0 ± 0.2 ps for a solution of 5 M NaOH in HDO:H(2)O. For the O-H vibration of HDO molecules outside the first hydration shell of OD(-), we observe a similar speed-up from 750 ± 50 fs to 600 ± 50 fs for a solution of 6 M NaOD in HDO:D(2)O. The acceleration of the decay is assigned to fluctuations in the energy levels of the HDO molecules due to charge transfer events and charge fluctuations. The reorientation dynamics of water molecules outside the first hydration shell are observed to show the same time constant of 2.5 ± 0.2 ps as in bulk liquid water, indicating that there is no long range effect of the hydroxide ion on the hydrogen-bond structure of liquid water. The terahertz dielectric relaxation experiments show that the transfer of the hydroxide ion through liquid water involves the simultaneous motion of ~7 surrounding water molecules, considerably less than previously reported for the proton.     

Dynamics of nanoscopic water: vibrational echo and infrared pump-probe studies of reverse micelles

The dynamics of water in nanoscopic pools 1.7-4.0 nm in diameter in AOT reverse micelles were studied with ultrafast infrared spectrally resolved stimulated vibrational echo and pump-probe spectroscopies. The experiments were conducted on the OD hydroxyl stretch of low-concentration HOD in the H2O, providing a direct examination of the hydrogen-bond network dynamics. Pump-probe experiments show that the vibrational lifetime of the OD stretch mode increases as the size of the reverse micelle decreases. These experiments are also sensitive to hydrogen-bond dissociation and reformation dynamics, which are observed to change with reverse micelle size. Spectrally resolved vibrational echo data were obtained at several frequencies. The vibrational echo data are compared to data taken on bulk water and on a 6 M NaCl solution, which is used to examine the role of ionic strength on the water dynamics in reverse micelles. Two types of vibrational echo measurements are presented: the vibrational echo decays and the vibrational echo peak shifts. As the water nanopool size decreases, the vibrational echo decays become slower. Even the largest nanopool (4 nm, approximately 1000 water molecules) has dynamics that are substantially slower than bulk water. It is demonstrated that the slow dynamics in the reverse micelle water nanopools are a result of confinement rather than ionic strength. The data are fit using time-dependent diagrammatic perturbation theory to obtain the frequency-frequency correlation function (FFCF) for each reverse micelle. The results are compared to the FFCF of water and show that the largest differences are in the slowest time scale dynamics. In bulk water, the slowest time scale dynamics are caused by hydrogen-bond network equilibration, i.e., the making and breaking of hydrogen bonds. For the smallest nanopools, the longest time scale component of the water dynamics is approximately 10 times longer than the dynamics in bulk water. The vibrational echo data for the smallest reverse micelle displays a dependence on the detection wavelength, which may indicate that multiple ensembles of water molecules are being observed.     

Determination of the hydrogen-bonding induced local viscosity enhancement in room temperature ionic liquids via femtosecond time-resolved depleted spontaneous emission

The fluorescence depletion dynamics of Rhodamine 700 (R-700) molecules in room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([emim][BF(4)]) and 1-hydroxyethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([HOemim][BF(4)]) were investigated to determine the local viscosity of the microenvironment surrounding the fluorescent molecules, which is induced by strong hydrogen bonding interaction between cationic and anionic components in RTILs. The solvation and rotation dynamics of R-700 molecules in RTILs show slower time constants relative to that in conventional protic solvents with the same bulk viscosity, indicating that the probe molecule is facing a more viscous microenvironment in RTILs than in conventional solvents because of the strong hydrogen bonding interaction between cationic and anionic components. In addition, this effect is more pronounced in hydroxyl-functionalized ionic liquid than in the regular RTIL due to the presence of a hydroxyl group as a strong hydrogen bonding donor. The hydrogen-bonding-induced local viscosity enhancement effect related to the heterogeneity character of RTILs is confirmed by the nonexponential rotational relaxation of R-700 determined by time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC). The geometry of hydrogen bonding complexes with different components and sizes are further optimized by density functional theory methods to show the possible hydrogen-bond networks. A model of the hydrogen-bonding network in RTILs is further proposed to interpret the observed specific solvation and local viscosity enhancement effect in RTILs, where most of the fluoroprobes exist as the free nonbonding species in the RTIL solutions and are surrounded by the hydrogen-bonding network formed by the strong hydrogen-bonding between the cationic and anionic components in RTIL. The optimized geometry of hydrogen bonding complexes with different components and sizes by density functional theory methods confirms the local viscosity enhancement effect deduced from fluorescence depletion and TCSPC experiments. The calculated interaction energies reveal the existence of the stronger hydrogen bonding network in RTILs (especially in hydroxyl-functionalized ionic liquid) than that in conventional protic solvent, which leads to the enhancement effect of local microviscosity, and therefore leads to the slow solvation and rotation dynamics of probe molecules observed in RTILs.     

The effects of dissolved halide anions on hydrogen bonding in liquid water

It is widely believed that the addition of salts to water engenders structural changes in the hydrogen-bond network well beyond the adjacent shell of solvating molecules. Classification of many ions as "structure makers" and "structure breakers" has been based in part on corresponding changes in the vibrational spectra (Raman and IR). Here we show that changes in O-H vibrational spectra induced by the alkali halides in liquid water result instead from the actions of ions' electric fields on adjacent water molecules. Computer simulations that accurately reproduce our experimental measurements suggest that the statistics of hydrogen-bond strengths are only weakly modified beyond this first solvation shell.     

Nuclear quadrupole relaxation of atoms and ions in polar solvents

A simple continuum model for quadrupole relaxation rates of atoms and large ions in polar solvents is obtained by generalizing the recent Hynes-Wolynes model. Whereas the original model considers fluctuations in the electric field gradient at the quadrupolar nucleus to arise solely from rotational motions of solvent dipoles, the present model also allows for fluctuations due to translational solvent motions. It shows that when both translational and rotational motions of polar solvent molecules occur simultaneously the rate of spin-lattice relaxation is reduced relative to the case where relaxation is induced by rotational solvent motions alone. Predicted rates from an amended version of the original Hynes-Wolynes model and from the generalized model are compared with experimental rates for ¹³¹Xe, ¹²⁷I^? and ⁸¹Br^? in several solvents.     

Molecular dynamics with quantum transitions study of the vibrational relaxation of the HOD bend fundamental in liquid D2O

The molecular dynamics with quantum transitions method is used to study the vibrational relaxation of the HOD bend fundamental in liquid D(2)O. All of the vibrational bending degrees of freedom of the HOD and D(2)O molecules are described by quantum mechanics, while the remaining translational and rotational degrees of freedom are described classically. The effect of the coupling between the rotational and vibrational degrees of freedom of the deuterated water molecules is analyzed. A kinetic mechanism based on three steps is proposed in order to interpret the dynamics of the system. It is shown that intermolecular vibrational energy transfer plays an important role in the relaxation process and also that the transfer of energy into the rotational degrees of freedom is favored over the transfer of energy into the translational motions. The thermalization of the system after the relaxation is reached in a shorter time scale than that of the recovery of the hydrogen bond network. The relaxation and equilibration times obtained compare well with experimental and previous theoretical results.     

Molecular dynamics and NMR studies of proteins in ionic solutions

The molecular dynamics of water and selected ions was studied in concentrated electrolyte solutions with, or without, proteins added. Our experimental results by multinuclear spin relaxation techniques were then compared with molecular dynamics computations for water and ions in concentrated electrolyte solutions. The mechanisms for the anionic and cationic interactions with myofibrillar proteins in aqueous solutions were investigated by nuclear magnetic resonance over a wide range of salt concentrations. The multinuclear spin relaxation data were analyzed with a thermodynamic linkage model of hydrated ion clusters of various sizes and composition. Protein amide groups were found to bind to anions with strengths in the order of the lyotropic series.     

Relaxation of the optical Kerr effect of anisotropic molecules in mixed liquids

The relaxation time of the Kerr effect of nitrobenzene and m-nitrotoluene in various mixtures with carbon tetrachloride and various alcohols was determined by measuring the kinetics of the Kerr effect using picosecond laser techniques. These measurements yield information on the rotational motion of molecules in liquids. The relaxation time data are interpreted in terms of an effective local viscosity effect, pair correlation, and coupling of rotational motion with shear modes.     

Structure and reactivity of the calcite-water interface

The zetapotential of calcite in contact with aqueous solutions of varying composition is determined for pre-equilibrated suspensions by means of electrophoretic measurements and for non-equilibrium solutions by means of streaming potential measurements. Carbonate and calcium are identified as charge determining ions. Studies of the equilibrium solutions show a shift of isoelectric point with changing CO(2) partial pressure. Changes in pH have only a weak effect in non-equilibrium solutions. The surface structure of (104)-faces of single crystal calcite in contact to solutions corresponding to those of the zetapotential investigations is determined from surface diffraction measurements. The results reveal no direct indication of calcium or carbonate inner-sphere surface species. The surface ions are found to relax only slightly from their bulk positions; the most significant relaxation is a ～4° tilt of the surface carbonate ions towards the surface. Two ordered layers of water molecules are identified, the first at 2.35±0.05? above surface calcium ions and the second layer at 3.24±0.06? above the surface associated with surface carbonate ions. A Basic-Stern surface complexation model is developed to model observed zetapotentials, while only considering outer-sphere complexes of ions other than protons and hydroxide. The Basic-Stern SCM successfully reproduces the zetapotential data and gives reasonable values for the inner Helmholtz capacitance, which are in line with the Stern layer thickness estimated from surface diffraction results.     

Angular and frequency dependent spin relaxation study of liquid crystalline cyanobiphenyls

NMR field-cycling measurements of the Larmor frequency (v) and angular (Δ) dependences of the longitudinal proton spin relaxation time T₁ for the nematic liquid crystals 5CB and 8CB allow a more detailed analysis of the underlying molecular motions than data available previously. All T₁ (v, Δ) dispersion profiles essentially distinguish three frequency ranges where T₁ is governed by either local field effects, collective motions (director order fluctuations), or rotational and translational diffusion of individual molecules or molecular groups, respectively. The angular dependence supports and extends previous conclusions about the significance of the order fluctuation term at low (kHz) and high (MHz) Larmor frequencies; in addition it is the basis for the disentanglement of local field effects, which involve Jeener's dipolar relaxation, and of the sophisticated rotational relaxation models suggested in the literature by Dong, Nordio and Vold. It is found that Vold's third rate concept gives the best explanation of the measurements. The results on the rotational diffusion processes essentially agree with deuteron studies from the literature, but also reveal clear distinctions with regard to the anisotropy parameter σ, essentially due to the improved separation from the order fluctuation contribution.