空气/水界面水分子的取向和运动

Here we report a quantitative study of the orientational structure and motion of water molecule at the air/water interface. Analysis of Sum Frequency Generation (SFG) vibrational peak of the free O-H stretching band at 3700 cm-1 in four experimental configurations showed that orientational motion of water molecule at air/water interface is libratory within a limited angular range. The free OH bond of the interfacial water molecule is tilted around 33° from the interface normal and the orientational distribution or motion width is less than 15°. This picture is significantly different from the previous conclusion that the interfacial water molecule orientation varies over a broad range within the ultrafast vibrational relaxation time, the only direct experimental study concluded for ultrafast and broad orientational motion of a liquid interface by Wei et al.(Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 4799, (2001)) using single SFG experimental configuration.     

C-H stretching vibrations of methyl, methylene and methine groups at the vapor/alcohol (N = 1-8) interfaces

In IR and Raman spectral studies, the congestion of the vibrational modes in the C-H stretching region between 2800 and 3000 cm(-1) has complicated spectral assignment, conformational analysis, and structural and dynamics studies, even with quite a few of the simplest molecules. To resolve these issues, polarized spectra measurement on a well aligned sample is generally required. Because the liquid interface is generally ordered and molecularly thin, and sum frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy (SFG-VS) is an intrinsically coherent polarization spectroscopy, SFG-VS can be used for discerning details in vibrational spectra of the interfacial molecules. Here we show that, from systematic molecular symmetry and SFG-VS polarization analysis, a set of polarization selection rules could be developed for explicit assignment of the SFG vibrational spectra of the C-H stretching modes. These polarization selection rules helped assignment of the SFG-VS spectra of vapor/alcohol (n = 1-8) interfaces with unprecedented details. Previous approach on assignment of these spectra relied on IR and Raman spectral assignment, and they were not able to give such detailed assignment of the SFG vibrational spectra. Sometimes inappropriate assignment was made, and consequently misleading conclusions on interfacial structure, conformation and even dynamics were reached. With these polarization rules in addition to knowledge from IR and Raman studies, new structural information and understanding of the molecular interactions at these interfaces were obtained, and some new spectral features for the C-H stretching modes were also identified. Generally speaking, these new features can be applied to IR and Raman spectroscopic studies in the condensed phase. Therefore, the advancement on vibrational spectra assignment may find broad applications in the related fields using IR and Raman as vibrational spectroscopic tools.     

Time evolution studies of the H2O/quartz interface using sum frequency generation, atomic force microscopy, and molecular dynamics

Many interfacial studies on solid surfaces, for example, quartz/water, assume that a standard cleaning procedure regenerates the surface reproducibly. In the reported work, the results of two surface specific techniques, sum frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy, show that the effects of prolonged exposure to Nanopure water and to pH 10 NaOH are distinctly different. In conjunction with the experimental data, molecular mechanics is used to correlate the SFG spectral frequencies to the hydrogen stretching vibrations of the surface-bound water molecules. It is found that after 17 days of soaking in water, water molecules penetrate into the SiO2 matrix to produce a swollen and amorphous layer; it is likely that broken Si-O bonds from the polishing process serve as nucleation sites for hydration and swelling. Disorder introduced in the interfacial water layer is detected by the rising intensity of the weakly hydrogen-bonded SFG peak at 3450 cm(-1). Dominance of the 3450 cm(-1) is absent in a pH 10, NaOH-soaked quartz disk, indicating that the strong hydrogen-bonded network in water remains intact.     

Structural inhomogeneity of interfacial water at lipid monolayers revealed by surface-specific vibrational pump-probe spectroscopy

We report vibrational lifetime measurements of the OH stretch vibration of interfacial water in contact with lipid monolayers, using time-resolved vibrational sum frequency (VSF) spectroscopy. The dynamics of water in contact with four different lipids are reported and are characterized by vibrational relaxation rates measured at 3200, 3300, 3400, and 3500 cm(-1). We observe that the water molecules with an OH frequency ranging from 3300 to 3500 cm(-1) all show vibrational relaxation with a time constant of T(1) = 180 ± 35 fs, similar to what is found for bulk water. Water molecules with OH groups near 3200 cm(-1) show distinctly faster relaxation dynamics, with T(1) < 80 fs. We successfully model the data by describing the interfacial water containing two distinct subensembles in which spectral diffusion is, respectively, rapid (3300-3500 cm(-1)) and absent (3200 cm(-1)). We discuss the potential biological implications of the presence of the strongly hydrogen-bonded, rapidly relaxing water molecules at 3200 cm(-1) that are decoupled from the bulk water system.     

利用和频振动光谱研究空气/短链脂肪酸界面的分子取向

利用和频振动光谱(SFG-VS)方法检测了5种短链脂肪酸分子(乙酸、丙酸、正丁酸、正戊酸及正己酸)在空气/纯液体界面的结构, 得到了3种偏振组合(ssp, ppp, sps)下的和频振动光谱. 通过偏振选择定则对各个谱峰进行了指认和分析, 同时计算出空气/纯脂肪酸液体界面上脂肪酸分子的甲基取向角. 对比发现, 从丙酸到己酸, 分子甲基基团的界面取向角随碳链的增长略有增大. 并对其机理进行了分析.     

Salt effect on molecular orientation at air/liquid methanol interface

The salt effects on molecular orientation at air/liquid methanol interface were investigated by the polarization-dependent sum frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy(SFG-VS). We clarified that the average tilting angle of the methyl group to be u = 308 58 at the air/pure methanol surface assuming a d-function orientational distribution. Upon the addition of 3 mol/L Na I, the methyl group tilts further away from the surface normal with a new u = 418 38. This orientational change does not explain the enhancement of the SFG-VS intensities when adding Na I, implying the number density of the methanol molecules with a net polar ordering in the surface region also changed with the Na I concentrations. These spectroscopic findings shed new light on the salt effects on the surfaces structures of the polar organic solutions. It was also shown that the accurate determination of the bulk refractive indices and Raman depolarization ratios for different salt concentrations is crucial to quantitatively interpret the SFG-VS data.     

Orientational motions of vibrational chromophores in molecules at the air/water interface with time-resolved sum frequency generation

The first time-resolved experiments in which interfacial molecules are pumped to excited electronic states and probed by vibrational sum frequency generation (SFG) are reported. This method was used to measure the out-of-plane rotation dynamics, i.e. time dependent changes in the polar angle, of a vibrational chromophore of an interfacial molecule. The chromophore is the carbonyl group, the rotation observed is that of the -C=O bond axis, with respect to the interfacial normal, and the interfacial molecule is coumarin 314 (C314) at the air/water interface. The orientational relaxation time was found to be 220+/-20 ps, which is much faster than the orientational relaxation time of the permanent dipole moment axis of C314 at the same interface, as obtained from pump-second harmonic probe experiments. Possible effects on the rotation of the -C=O bond axis due to the carbonyl group hydrogen bonding with interfacial water are discussed. From the measured equilibrium orientation of the permanent dipole moment axis and the carbonyl axis, and knowledge of their relative orientation in the molecule, the absolute orientation of C314 at the air/water interface is obtained.     

Consistency in the sum frequency generation intensity and phase vibrational spectra of the air/neat water interface

Substantial progress has been made in the quantitative understanding and interpretation of the hydrogen bonding and ordering structure of the air/water interface since the first sum-frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy (SFG-VS) measurement by Q. Du et al. in 1993 (Phys. Rev. Lett. 1993, 70, 2312-2316). However, there are still disagreements and controversies on the consistency between the different experimental measurements, as well as in the theoretical and computational results. One critical problem lies in the lack of consistency between the SFG-VS intensity measurements and the recently developed SFG-VS phase spectra measurements of the neat air/water interface, which has inspired various theoretical efforts. In this report, the reliability of the SFG-VS intensity spectra of the air/neat water interface is to be quantitatively examined, and possible sources of inaccuracies in the SFG-VS phase spectral measurement are to be discussed based on the nonresonant SHG phase measurements. Solid evidence is shown indicating that the SFG-VS intensity spectra from different laboratories are now quantitatively converging and in agreement with each other. However, the possible inaccuracies and inconsistencies in the SFG-VS phase spectra measurements need to be carefully examined against a properly corrected phase standard to take full advantage of this powerful experimental tool.     

Reconsideration of second-harmonic generation from isotropic liquid interface: broken Kleinman symmetry of neat air/water interface from dipolar contribution

It has been generally accepted that there are significant quadrupolar and bulk contributions to the second-harmonic generation (SHG) reflected from the neat air/water interface, as well as common liquid interfaces. Because there has been no general methodology to determine the quadrupolar and bulk contributions to the SHG signal from a liquid interface, this conclusion was reached based on the following two experimental phenomena: the breaking of the macroscopic Kleinman symmetry and the significant temperature dependence of the SHG signal from the neat air/water interface. However, because the sum frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy (SFG-VS) measurement of the neat air/water interface observed no apparent temperature dependence, the temperature dependence in the SHG measurement has been reexamined and proven to be an experimental artifact. Here we present a complete microscopic analysis of the susceptibility tensors of the air/water interface, and show that dipolar contribution alone can be used to address the issue of the breaking of the macroscopic Kleinman symmetry at the neat air/water interface. Using this analysis, the orientation of the water molecules at the interface can be obtained, and it is consistent with the measurement from SFG-VS. Therefore, the key rationales to conclude significantly quadrupolar and bulk contributions to the SHG signal of the neat air/water interface can no longer be considered as valid as before. This new understanding of the air/water interface can shed light on our understanding of the nonlinear optical responses from other molecular interfaces as well.     

和频光谱研究油酸包覆的Fe3 O4 纳米颗粒

采用红外-可见和频振动光谱研究了表面包覆油酸分子的Fe3O4纳米颗粒, 得到了2种实验构型(构型1: 可见光入射角63°, 红外光入射角55°; 构型2: 可见光入射角45°, 红外光入射角55°)和3种偏振组合(ssp, ppp, sps)下的和频振动光谱, 比较了2种实验构型下和频光谱的特征, 通过偏振分析方法对各个光谱峰进行了归属.     

Infrared spectroscopy of small sodium-doped water clusters: interaction with the solvated electron

The measured vibrational OH-stretch spectra of size-selected Na(H2O)n clusters for n=8, 10, 16, and 20 are compared with first-principle calculations, which account for the interaction of the sodium cation, the electron, and the water molecules with the hydrogen-bonded network. The calculated harmonic frequencies are corrected by comparing similar results obtained for pure water clusters with experiment. The experimental spectra are dominated by intensity peaks between 3350 and 3550 cm(-1), which result from the interaction of the H atoms with the delocalized electron cloud. The calculations, which are all based upon the average spectra of the four lowest-energy isomers, indicate that most of the peaks at the lower end of this range (3217 cm(-1) for n=8) originate from the interaction of one H atom with the electron distribution in a configuration with a single hydrogen-bonding acceptor. Those at the upper end (3563 cm(-1) for n=8) come from similar interactions with two acceptors. The doublets, which arise from the interaction of both H atoms with the electron, appear in the red-shifted part of the spectrum. They are with 3369/3443 cm(-1) quite pronounced for n=8 but slowly vanish for the larger clusters where they mix with the other spectral interactions of the hydrogen-bonded network, namely, the fingerprints of the free, the double, and the single donor OH positions known from pure water cluster spectroscopy. For all investigated sizes, the electron is sitting at the surface of the clusters.     

Inclusion-water-cluster in a three-dimensional superlattice of gold nanoparticles

Three-dimensional particle crystals made of dicarboxylic thiolate (MSA)-stabilized gold nanoparticles were formed at an air/water interface. FTIR spectra of this supracrystal showed that three well-resolved peaks existed from 3400 to 3550 cm-1 just falling in a region of OH stretching vibrational mode. Precise analysis showed that all these peaks originated from the water cluster included in the interstice of a particle crystal.     

Communication: Spectroscopic phase and lineshapes in high-resolution broadband sum frequency vibrational spectroscopy: resolving interfacial inhomogeneities of "identical" molecular groups

The ability to achieve sub-wavenumber resolution (0.6 cm(-1)) and a large signal-to-noise ratio in high-resolution broadband sum-frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy (HR-BB-SFG-VS) allows for the detailed SFG spectral lineshapes to be used in the unambiguous determination of fine spectral features. Changes in the structural spectroscopic phase in SFG-VS as a function of beam polarization and experimental geometry proved to be instrumental in the identification of an unexpected 2.78 ± 0.07 cm(-1) spectral splitting for the two methyl groups at the vapor/dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO, (CH(3))(2)SO) liquid interface as well as in the determination of their orientational angles.     

Structure and vibrational spectroscopy of salt water/air interfaces: predictions from classical molecular dynamics simulations

We report the sum frequency generation (SFG) spectra of aqueous sodium iodide interfaces computed with the methodology outlined by Morita and Hynes (J. Phys. Chem. B 2002, 106, 673), which is based on molecular dynamics simulations. The calculated spectra are in qualitative agreement with experiment. Our simulations show that the addition of sodium iodide to water leads to an increase in SFG intensity in the region of 3400 cm(-1), which is correlated with an increase in ordering of hydrogen-bonded water molecules. Depth-resolved orientational distribution functions suggest that the ion double layer orders water molecules that are approximately one water layer below the Gibbs dividing surface. We attribute the increase in SFG intensity to these ordered subsurface water molecules that are present in the aqueous sodium iodide/air interfaces but are absent in the neat water/air interface.     

Determination of structure and energetics for gibbs surface adsorption layers of binary liquid mixture 2. Methanol + water

Vapor/methanol and vapor/methanol-water mixture interfaces have been among the benchmark liquid interfaces under extensive experimental and theoretical investigation. In this report, we studied the orientation, structure and energetics of the vapor/methanol-water interface with newly developed techniques in sum frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy (SFG-VS). Different from the interpretations in previous SFG-VS studies for a more disordered interface at higher bulk methanol concentrations, we found that the methanol-water mixture interface is well ordered in the whole concentration region. We are able to do so because direct polarization null angle (PNA) measurement allowed us to accurately determine the CH3 orientation at the interface and to separate the orientational and interface density contributions to the SFG-VS signal. We found that the CH3 groups at the interface pointed out almost perpendicularly from the interface. We further found that this well-ordered vapor/methanol-water mixture interface has an antiparallel structure. With the double layer adsorption model (DAM) and Langmuir isotherm, the adsorption free energies for the first and second layer are obtained as -1.7 +/- 0.1 kcal/mol and 0.5 +/- 0.4 kcal/mol, respectively. Therefore, the second layer adsorption is slightly negative, and this means that replacement of the second layer water molecule with methanol molecule is energetically unfavorable. Comparing this interface with the vapor/acetone-water mixture interface reported previously, we are able to correlate the second layer adsorption free energy with the work of self-association using the pairwise self- and mutual interaction energies between the water and solute molecules. These results provided detailed microscopic structural evidences for understanding of liquid interfaces.     

Nature of water in nacre: a 2D Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic study

In this work, the interactions of aragonite and organic matrix in nacre with water are investigated using two-dimensional (2D) Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The 2D-FTIR analysis revealed four bands in the OH stretching region at around 3550, 3445, 3272 and 3074 cm(-1). Two additional bands were found at around 3616 and 3282 cm(-1) after deconvolution of the nacre spectrum. The bands at around 3616 and 3550 cm(-1) are assigned to asymmetric and symmetric OH stretching of partially hydrogen bonded water molecules. The bands at around 3445 and 3272 cm(-1) are assigned to asymmetric and symmetric OH stretching of water molecules fully hydrogen bonded with surrounding water molecules. Presence of above bands in the nacre spectrum suggests that water, in form of clusters, is present in protein matrix and aragonite pores. Water may also hydrogen bond with the organic matrix. The bands observed at 3282 and 3074 cm(-1) are assigned to asymmetric and symmetric OH stretching of water molecules, chemisorbed on surfaces of aragonite platelets. Polarization experiments suggest that H-O-H plane of water molecules is along to c-axis of aragonite platelets.     

Vibrational Spectra and Adsorption of Trisiloxane Superspreading Surfactant at Air/Water Interface Studied with Sum Frequency Generation Vibrational Spectroscopy

The C-H stretch vibrational spectra of the trisiloxane superspreading surfactant Silwet L-77((CH3)3Si-O-Si(CH3)(C3H6)(OCH2CH2)7-8OCH3)-O-Si(CH3)3) at the air/water interface are measured with the surface Sum Frequency Generation Vibrational Spectroscopy (SFG-VS). The spectra are dominated with the features from the –Si-CH3 groups around 2905 cm-1 (symmetric stretch or SS mode) and 2957 cm-1 (mostly the asymmetric stretch or AS mode), and with the weak but apparent contribution from the -O-CH2- groups around 2880 cm-1 (symmetric stretch or SS mode). Comparison of the polarization dependent SFG spectra below and above the critical aggregate or micelle concentration (CAC) indicates that the molecular orientation of the C¡H related molecular groups remained unchanged at different surface densities of the Silwet L-77 surfactant. The SFG-VS adsorption isotherm suggested that there was no sign of Silwet L-77 bilayer structure formation at the air/water interface. The Gibbs adsorption free energy of the Silwet surfactant to the air/water interface is -42.2±0.8kJ/mol, indicating the unusually strong adsorption ability of the Silwet L-77 superspreading surfactant     

Structure of the acetone liquid-vapor interface as seen from Monte Carlo simulations

The orientational order of the molecules at the liquid-vapor interface of acetone has been investigated by computer simulation. To fully describe the orientational preferences of the acetone molecules, the bivariate joint distribution of two independent orientational parameters has been determined at different layers of the interface. The strength of the orientational ordering of the interfacial molecules has been found to be liquid-like rather than crystal-like. The obtained results have revealed that the interfacial acetone molecules have dual orientational preferences. The main symmetry axis of the molecules declines by about 50-70 degrees from the interface normal axis, pointing toward the liquid phase in both of the preferred orientations. However, the plane of the molecules in the orientation preferred on the liquid side of the interface is perpendicular to the interfacial plane, whereas the other preferred orientation, which is present on the vapor side of the interface, corresponds to the alignment obtained from this orientation by an almost 90 degrees rotation around the main symmetry axis. Because the population of the liquid side is higher than that of the vapor side of the interface, the first of the two preferred orientations is the dominant alignment over the entire interface, in good agreement with recent experimental findings (Chen, H.; Gan, W.; Wu, B. H.; Wu, D.; Zhang, Z.; Wang, H. F. Chem. Phys. Lett. 2005, 408, 284).     

Hydrogen bonded structure and dynamics of liquid-vapor interface of water-ammonia mixture: an ab initio molecular dynamics study

We have carried out ab initio molecular dynamics simulations of a liquid-vapor interfacial system consisting of a mixture of water and ammonia molecules. We have made a detailed analysis of the structural and dynamical properties of the bulk and interfacial regions of the mixture. Among structural properties, we have looked at the inhomogeneous density profiles of water and ammonia molecules, hydrogen bond distributions, orientational profiles, and also vibrational frequency distributions of bulk and interfacial molecules. It is found that the interfacial molecules show preference for specific orientations so as to form water-ammonia hydrogen bonds at the interface with ammonia as the acceptor. The structure of the system is also investigated in terms of inter-atomic voids present in the system. Among the dynamical properties, we have calculated the diffusion, orientational relaxation, hydrogen bond dynamics, and vibrational spectral diffusion in bulk and interfacial regions. It is found that the diffusion and orientation relaxation of the interfacial molecules are faster than those of the bulk. However, the hydrogen bond lifetimes are longer at the interface which can be correlated with the time scales found from the decay of frequency time correlations.