FTIR study of water clusters in water–triethylamine solutions

The FTIR study presented in this work, on water dissolved in triethylamine (TEA), reveals the formation of water clusters in the TEA liquid phase at tenths of water molar concentrations. In the OH stretching region, the FTIR spectra of water in TEA show, at high frequencies, a narrow band at 3682 cm⁻¹ and, at low frequencies, a wide band that can be resolved into four peaks with maxima at 3249 cm⁻¹, 3348 cm⁻¹, 3440 cm⁻¹ and 3545 cm⁻¹. The results have been rationalised assuming the formation of clusters containing tens of three- and four-coordinated water molecules. TEA molecules surrounding the clusters are hydrogen bonded to one OH of the water molecules at the surface, leaving dangling protons. Further, the analyses of the spectra suggest that, in the used range, the water cluster mean size does not depend strongly on the water concentration.