Raman light scattering studies of the depolarized low frequency region of water and aqueous solutions

Hydrogen-bonding and vibrational coupling of water in a hydrophobic hydration shell as observed by Raman-MCR and isotopic dilution spectroscopy

Raman multivariate curve resolution (Raman-MCR) spectroscopy reveals the perturbation of vibrational coupling of water in a hydrophobic hydration shell.

Solvation shell resolved THz spectra of simple aqua ions – distinct distance- and frequency-dependent contributions of solvation shells

Spatial decomposition schemes for infrared spectra reveal the importance of both dipolar couplings and correlations in particle motion in aqueous solutions of Na⁺and Cl⁻.

Salt effect on volume phase transition of a gel

The salt effect on the phase transition of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPA) gel was studied for alkali-metal chlorides (NaCl, KCl, and CsCl). Low-frequency Raman scattering experiment was conducted to know the dynamic state of water molecule under the presence of salt and its correlation to macroscopic phase behavior of the gel was investigated together with the thermodynamic activities of water molecule of aqueous alkali-metal chloride solutions. The series of swelling experiment reveal that the change in the gel volume phase transition strongly depends on the salt concentration and is related to the dehydration with respect to hydrophobic hydration. From the analysis of the reduced low-frequency Raman spectra in water and aqueous alkali-metal chlorides solutions by the use of the relaxation mode that takes into account the inertia and the non-white effects, the characteristic values of aqueous salt solutions (i.e., relaxation time and modulation speed) indicate that the addition of alkali-metal chloride to gel fluid affects the disruption of water molecules in the hydration shell around the NIPA gel and the formation of the hydrogen-bonded network structure of water around themselves, as a result of which the gel collapses. The chemical potential and the dynamic nature of water molecule at the transition points are well correlated: the chemical potentials at the transition points are almost constant whereas the structure of bulk water is changed by addition of alkali-metal chlorides or change in temperature. These results strongly suggest that the swelling ratio of N-isopropylacrylamide gel is a function of hydration degree, which is regulated by the chemical potential of water.

Possibility of breakdown of overdamped and narrowing limits in low-frequency Raman spectra: phenomenological band-shape analysis using the multiple-random-telegraph model

Depolarized low-frequency Raman spectra of liquid water and heavy water are investigated from 266 K to 356 K. The reduced Raman spectra below 250 cm(-1) are reproduced by a superposition of one relaxation mode and two damped harmonic oscillator modes. The multiple-random-telegraph (MRT) model, which takes into account inertia and memory effects, is applied to analyze the relaxation component. Two damped harmonic oscillators around 50 cm(-1) and 180 cm(-1) are known as a bendinglike mode and a stretchinglike mode, respectively. It is found that the intensity of the bendinglike mode in water (heavy water) gradually decreases with increasing temperature, and finally vanishes above about 296 K (306 K). The relaxation time of the MRT model is interpreted as representing the averaged lifetime of the vibrating unit. At high temperature, the relaxation time becomes short, that is to say, the vibrating unit is quickly destroyed before the 50 cm(-1) mode is oscillating sufficiently. In the present analysis, the strongly disrupted oscillation cannot be distinguished from the relaxation mode which includes the inertia and memory effects. It is found that the low-frequency Raman spectrum of liquid water at high temperature is a good example demonstrating an application of the MRT model.