Collisions of DCl with a Solution Covered with Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Ions: Tetrahexylammonium Bromide in Glycerol

Experimental Depth Profiles of Surfactants, Ions, and Solvent at the Angstrom Scale: Studies of Cationic and Anionic Surfactants and Their Salting Out

Neutral impact ion scattering spectroscopy (NICISS) is used to measure the depth profiles of ionic surfactants, counterions, and solvent molecules on the angstrom scale. The chosen surfactants are 0.010 m tetrahexylammonium bromide (THA⁺/Br^-) and 0.0050 m sodium dodecyl sulfate (Na⁺/DS^-) in the absence and presence of 0.30 m NaBr in liquid glycerol. NICISS determines the depth profiles of the elements C, O, Na, S, and Br through the loss in energy of 5 keV He atoms that travel into and out of the liquid, which is then converted into depth. In the absence of NaBr, we find that THA⁺ and its Br^- counterion segregate together because of charge attraction, forming a narrow double layer that is 10 Å wide and 150 times more concentrated than in the bulk. With the addition of NaBr, THA⁺ is "salted out" to the surface, increasing the interfacial Br^- concentration by 3-fold and spreading the anions over a ∼30 Å depth. Added NaBr similarly increases the interfacial concentration of DS^- ions and broadens their positions. Conversely, the dissolved Br^- ions are significantly depleted over a depth of 0-40 Å from the surface because of charge repulsion from DS^- ions within the interfacial region. These different interfacial Br^- propensities correlate with previously measured gas-liquid reactivities: gaseous Cl₂ readily reacts with Br^- ions in the presence of THA⁺ but drops 70-fold in the presence of DS^-, demonstrating that surfactant headgroup charge controls the reactivity of Br^- through changes in its depth profile.

Atomic and Molecular Collisions at Liquid Surfaces

The gas-liquid interface remains one of the least explored, but nevertheless most practically important, environments in which molecular collisions take place. These molecular-level processes underlie many bulk phenomena of fundamental and applied interest, spanning evaporation, respiration, multiphase catalysis, and atmospheric chemistry. We review here the research that has, during the past decade or so, been unraveling the molecular-level mechanisms of inelastic and reactive collisions at the gas-liquid interface. Armed with the knowledge that such collisions with the outer layers of the interfacial region can be unambiguously distinguished, we show that the scattering of gas-phase projectiles is a promising new tool for the interrogation of liquid surfaces with extreme surface sensitivity. Especially for reactive scattering, this method also offers absolute chemical selectivity for the groups that react to produce a specific observed product.

Salty glycerol versus salty water surface organization: bromide and iodide surface propensities

Salty NaBr and NaI glycerol solution interfaces are examined in the OH stretching region using broadband vibrational sum frequency generation (VSFG) spectroscopy. Raman and infrared (IR) spectroscopy are used to further understand the VSFG spectroscopic signature. The VSFG spectra of salty glycerol solutions reveal that bromide and iodide anions perturb the interfacial glycerol organization in a manner similar as that found in aqueous halide salt solutions, thus confirming the presence of bromide and iodide anions at the glycerol surface. Surface tension measurements are consistent with the surface propensity suggested by the VSFG data and also show that the surface excess increases with increasing salt concentration, similar to that of water. In addition, iodide is shown to have more surface prevalence than bromide, as has also been determined from aqueous solutions. These results suggest that glycerol behaves similarly to water with respect to surface activity and solvation of halide anions at its air/liquid interface.

Dry Deposition of Biogenic Terpenes via Cationic Oligomerization on Environmental Aqueous Surfaces

Unraveling the complex interactions between the atmosphere and the biosphere is critical for predicting climate changes. Although it is well-recognized that the large amounts of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) emitted by plants must play important roles in this regard, current atmospheric models fail to account for their fate due to missing chemical sinks. Here, we applied online electrospray mass spectrometry to monitor aqueous microjets exposed to gaseous monoterpenes (α-pinene, β-pinene, and d-limonene) and found that these BVOCs are readily protonated (to C10H17(+)) and undergo oligomerization (to C20H33(+) and C30H49(+)) upon colliding with the surface of pH < 4 microjets. By considering that the yields of all products show inflection points at pH ≈ 3.5 and display solvent kinetic hydrogen isotope effects larger than 2, we conclude that the oligomerization process is initiated by weakly hydrated hydronium ions, H3O(+), present at the gas-water interface. Present results provide a universal mechanism for the dry deposition of unsaturated BVOCs and may account for recent observations on the uptake of terpenes in forest canopies and over grassland.

Influence of the ionic liquid/gas surface on ionic liquid chemistry

Applications such as gas storage, gas separation, NP synthesis and supported ionic liquid phase catalysis depend upon the interaction of different species with the ionic liquid/gas surface. Consequently, these applications cannot proceed to the full extent of their potential without a profound understanding of the surface structure and properties. As a whole, this perspective contains more questions than answers, which demonstrates the current state of the field. Throughout this perspective, crucial questions are posed and a roadmap is proposed to answer these questions. A critical analysis is made of the field of ionic liquid/gas surface structure and properties, and a number of design rules are mined. The effects of ionic additives on the ionic liquid/gas surface structure are presented. A possible driving force for surface formation is discussed that has, to the best of my knowledge, not been postulated in the literature to date. This driving force suggests that for systems composed solely of ions, the rules for surface formation of dilute electrolytes do not apply. The interaction of neutral additives with the ionic liquid/gas surface is discussed. Particular attention is focussed upon H(2)O and CO(2), vital additives for many applications of ionic liquids. Correlations between ionic liquid/gas surface structure and properties, ionic liquid surfaces plus additives, and ionic liquid applications are given.