Reorientation of the “free OH” group in the top-most layer of air/water interface of sodium fluoride aqueous solution probed with sum-frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy

Physicochemical control of solvation and molecular assembly of charged amphiphilic oligomers at air-aqueous interfaces

HYPOTHESIS

Understanding the rules that control the assembly of nanostructured soft materials at interfaces is central to many applications. We hypothesize that electrolytes can be used to alter the hydration shell of amphiphilic oligomers at the air-aqueous interface of Langmuir films, thereby providing a means to control the formation of emergent nanostructures.

EXPERIMENTS

Three representative salts - (NaF, NaCl, NaSCN) were studied for mediating the self-assembly of oligodimethylsiloxane methylimidazolium (ODMS-MIM+) amphiphiles in Langmuir films. The effects of the different salts on the nanostructure assembly of these films were probed using vibrational sum frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy and Langmuir trough techniques. Experimental data were supported by atomistic molecular dynamic simulations.

FINDINGS

Langmuir trough surface pressure - area isotherms suggested a surprising effect on oligomer assembly, whereby the presence of anions affects the stability of the interfacial layer irrespective of their surface propensities. In contrast, SFG results implied a strong anion effect that parallels the surface activity of anions. These seemingly contradictory trends are explained by anion driven tail dehydration resulting in increasingly heterogeneous systems with entangled ODMS tails and appreciable anion penetration into the complex interfacial layer comprised of headgroups, tails, and interfacial water molecules. These findings provide physical and chemical insight for tuning a wide range of interfacial assemblies.

Spontaneous Appearance of Triiodide Covering the Topmost Layer of the Iodide Solution Interface Without Photo-Oxidation

Ions containing iodine atoms at the vapor-aqueous solution interfaces critically affect aerosol growth and atmospheric chemistry due to their complex chemical nature and multivalency. While the surface propensity of iodide ions has been intensely discussed in the context of the Hofmeister series, the stability of various ions containing iodine atoms at the vapor-water interface has been debated. Here, we combine surface-specific sum-frequency generation (SFG) vibrational spectroscopy with ab initio molecular dynamics simulations to examine the extent to which iodide ions cover the aqueous surface. The SFG probe of the free O-D stretch mode of heavy water indicates that the free O-D group density decreases drastically at the interface when the bulk NaI concentration exceeds ∼2 M. The decrease in the free O-D group density is attributed to the spontaneous appearance of triiodide that covers the topmost interface rather than to the surface adsorption of iodide. This finding demonstrates that iodide is not surface-active, yet the highly surface-active triiodide is generated spontaneously at the water-air interface, even under dark and oxygen-free conditions. Our study provides an important first step toward clarifying iodine chemistry and pathways for aerosol formation.

Enhanced Biphasic Reactions in Amphiphilic Silica Mesopores

In this study, we investigated the effect of the pore volume and mesopore size of surface-active catalytic organosilicas on the genesis of particle-stabilized (Pickering) emulsions for the dodecanal/ethylene glycol system and their reactivity for the acid-catalyzed biphasic acetalization reaction. To this aim, we functionalized a series of fumed silica superparticles (size 100-300 nm) displaying an average mesopore size in the range of 11-14 nm and variable mesopore volume, with a similar surface density of octyl and propylsulfonic acid groups. The modified silica superparticles were characterized in detail using different techniques, including acid-base titration, thermogravimetric analysis, TEM, and dynamic light scattering. The pore volume of the particles impacts their self-assembly and coverage at the dodecanal/ethylene glycol (DA/EG) interface. This affects the stability and the average droplet size of emulsions and conditions of the available interfacial surface area for reaction. The maximum DA-EG productivity is observed for A200 super-SiNPs with a pore volume of 0.39 cm3·g-1 with an interfacial coverage by particles lower than 1 (i.e., submonolayer). Using dissipative particle dynamics and all-atom grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations, we unveil a stabilizing role of the pore volume of porous silica superparticles for generating emulsions and local micromixing of immiscible dodecanal and ethylene glycol, allowing fast and efficient solvent-free acetalization in the presence of Pickering emulsions. The micromixing level is interrelated to the adsorption energy of self-assembled particles at the DA/EG interface.

Investigation of Water Evaporation Process at Air/Water Interface using Hofmeister Ions

Evaporation is an interfacial phenomenon in which a water molecule breaks the intermolecular hydrogen (H-) bonds and enters the vapor phase. However, a detailed demonstration of the role of interfacial water structure in the evaporation process is still lacking. Here, we purposefully perturb the H-bonding environment at the air/water interface by introducing kosmotropic (HPO₄^-2, SO₄^-2, and CO₃^-2) and chaotropic ions (NO₃^- and I^-) to determine their influence on the evaporation process. Using time-resolved interferometry on aqueous salt droplets, we found that kosmotropes reduce evaporation, whereas chaotropes accelerate the evaporation process, following the Hofmeister series: HPO₄^-2 < SO₄^-2 < CO₃^-2 < Cl^- < NO₃^- < I^-. To extract deeper molecular-level insights into the observed Hofmeister trend in the evaporation rates, we investigated the air/water interface in the presence of ions using surface-specific sum frequency generation (SFG) vibrational spectroscopy. The SFG vibrational spectra reveal the significant impact of ions on the strength of the H-bonding environment and the orientation of free OH oscillators from ∼36.2 to 48.4° at the air/water interface, where both the effects follow the Hofmeister series. It is established that the slow evaporating water molecules experience a strong H-bonding environment with free OH oscillators tilted away from the surface normal in the presence of kosmotropes. In contrast, the fast evaporating water molecules experience a weak H-bonding environment with free OH oscillators tilted toward the surface normal in the presence of chaotropes at the air/water interface. Our experimental outcomes showcase the complex bonding environment of interfacial water molecules and their decisive role in the evaporation process.

Polarization-Dependent Heterodyne-Detected Sum-Frequency Generation Spectroscopy as a Tool to Explore Surface Molecular Orientation and Ångström-Scale Depth Profiling

Sum-frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy provides a unique optical probe for interfacial molecules with interface-specificity and molecular specificity. SFG measurements can be further carried out at different polarization combinations, but the target of the polarization-dependent SFG is conventionally limited to investigating the molecular orientation. Here, we explore the possibility of polarization-dependent SFG (PD-SFG) measurements with heterodyne detection (HD-PD-SFG). We stress that HD-PD-SFG enables accurate determination of the peak amplitude, a key factor of the PD-SFG data. Subsequently, we outline that HD-PD-SFG can be used not only for estimating the molecular orientation but also for investigating the interfacial dielectric profile and studying the depth profile of molecules. We further illustrate the variety of combined simulation and PD-SFG studies.

Ion Pairing and Molecular Orientation at Liquid/Liquid Interfaces: Self-Assembly and Function

Molecular orientation plays a pivotal role in defining the functionality and chemistry of interfaces, yet accurate measurements probing this important feature are few, due, in part, to technical and analytical limitations in extracting information from molecular monolayers. For example, buried liquid/liquid interfaces, where a complex and poorly understood balance of inter- and intramolecular interactions impart structural constraints that facilitate the formation of supramolecular assemblies capable of new functions, are difficult to probe experimentally. Here, we use vibrational sum-frequency generation spectroscopy, numerical polarization analysis, and atomistic molecular dynamics simulations to probe molecular orientations at buried oil/aqueous interfaces decorated with amphiphilic oligomers. We show that the orientation of self-assembled oligomers changes upon the addition of salts in the aqueous phase. The evolution of these structures can be described by competitive ion effects in the aqueous phase altering the orientations of the tails extending into the oil phase. These specific anionic effects occur via interfacial ion pairing and associated changes in interfacial solvation and hydrogen-bonding networks. These findings provide more quantitative insight into orientational changes encountered during self-assembly and pave the way for the design of functional interfaces for chemical separations, neuromorphic computing applications, and related biomimetic systems.

Accurate molecular orientation at interfaces determined by multimode polarization-dependent heterodyne-detected sum-frequency generation spectroscopy via multidimensional orientational distribution function

Many essential processes occur at soft interfaces, from chemical reactions on aqueous aerosols in the atmosphere to biochemical recognition and binding at the surface of cell membranes. The spatial arrangement of molecules specifically at these interfaces is crucial for many of such processes. The accurate determination of the interfacial molecular orientation has been challenging due to the low number of molecules at interfaces and the ambiguity of their orientational distribution. Here, we combine phase- and polarization-resolved sum-frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy to obtain the molecular orientation at the interface. We extend an exponentially decaying orientational distribution to multiple dimensions, which, in conjunction with multiple SFG datasets obtained from the different vibrational modes, allows us to determine the molecular orientation. We apply this new approach to formic acid molecules at the air–water interface. The inferred orientation of formic acid agrees very well with ab initio molecular dynamics data. The phase-resolved SFG multimode analysis scheme using the multidimensional orientational distribution thus provides a universal approach for obtaining the interfacial molecular orientation.

Coverage-Induced Orientation Change: CO on Ir(111) Monitored by Polarization-Dependent Sum Frequency Generation Spectroscopy and Density Functional Theory

Polarization-dependent sum frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy was applied to study the adsorption of carbon monoxide (CO) on the well-ordered (annealed) Ir(111) single-crystal surface at various CO coverages. Coverage was adjusted by varying the substrate temperature (300-575 K) and/or gas pressure (10^-7 to 1.0 mbar). Under all conditions investigated, only a single absorption band at 2038-2094 cm^-1 was observed, characteristic of linearly bonded (on-top) CO. Using different polarizations, PPP and SSP spectra were acquired with a high signal-to-noise ratio, whereby tilt angles of CO on Ir(111) could be determined for the first time by SFG. It was found that not only the vibrational frequency of on-top CO but also the tilt angle was strongly coverage-dependent. The higher the coverage was, the larger the vibrational frequency and the tilt angle were. At about 0.7 ML coverage, a CO tilt angle of at least 20° was observed, which is in good agreement with density functional theory (DFT) calculations. In addition, the molecular hyperpolarizability ratio (R) of CO (at 0.13 ML in UHV) was determined to be 0.08. Based on the combined SFG/DFT results, it may change to 0.29 at 0.77 ML coverage.

Specific counter-cation effect on the molecular orientation of thiocyanate anions at the aqueous solution interface

Understanding the interfacial structure of aqueous electrolyte solutions is important and relevant to a wide range of systems, ranging from atmospheric aerosols to electrochemistry, and biological environments. Though significant efforts have been made to unravel the interfacial structure of water molecules, the structure and dynamics of ions at the interface have not yet been fully elucidated. Here, the interfacial structure of the aqueous solution was investigated directly by monitoring the thiocyanate (SCN-) anions using surface-specific sum frequency generation (SFG) vibrational spectroscopy. The molecular orientation of the SCN- anions and their adsorption behavior at the air/water interface were systematically determined by quantitative polarization analysis. The transition dipole of the CN stretching of the SCN- anion is oriented around 44° from the surface normal of the NaSCN aqueous solution surface and remained unchanged with the bulk concentration varying from 1 mol kg-1 to 13 mol kg-1. The free energy of adsorption of SCN- anions at the air/water interface was determined to be -1.53 ± 0.04 kcal mol-1. Furthermore, a new SFG peak positioned at 2080 cm-1 in the ppp polarization combination was observed at the air/15.0 mol kg-1 NaSCN aqueous solution interface for the first time. Concentration-dependent SFG analysis and density functional theory (DFT) calculation further revealed that the SCN- anions form an ion clustering structure at the air/water interface. The subtle and specific Na+ and K+ counter-cation effects on the interfacial structure of the SCN- anions at the aqueous solution interface were also observed, which showed that ion cooperativity plays an important role in affecting the interfacial structure of ions at the air/water interface. The results are expected to yield significant insights into the understanding of the structure of aqueous solution surfaces and the molecular level mechanism of the cationic Hofmeister effect.

Molecular Structure and Modeling of Water-Air and Ice-Air Interfaces Monitored by Sum-Frequency Generation

From a glass of water to glaciers in Antarctica, water-air and ice-air interfaces are abundant on Earth. Molecular-level structure and dynamics at these interfaces are key for understanding many chemical/physical/atmospheric processes including the slipperiness of ice surfaces, the surface tension of water, and evaporation/sublimation of water. Sum-frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy is a powerful tool to probe the molecular-level structure of these interfaces because SFG can specifically probe the topmost interfacial water molecules separately from the bulk and is sensitive to molecular conformation. Nevertheless, experimental SFG has several limitations. For example, SFG cannot provide information on the depth of the interface and how the orientation of the molecules varies with distance from the surface. By combining the SFG spectroscopy with simulation techniques, one can directly compare the experimental data with the simulated SFG spectra, allowing us to unveil the molecular-level structure of water-air and ice-air interfaces. Here, we present an overview of the different simulation protocols available for SFG spectra calculations. We systematically compare the SFG spectra computed with different approaches, revealing the advantages and disadvantages of the different methods. Furthermore, we account for the findings through combined SFG experiments and simulations and provide future challenges for SFG experiments and simulations at different aqueous interfaces.

Hydrogen bonding and molecular orientations across thin water films on sapphire

HYPOTHESIS

Water vapor binding to metal oxide surfaces produces thin water films with properties controlled by interactions with surface hydroxo sites. Hydrogen bonding populations vary across films and induce different molecular orientations than at the surface of liquid water. Identifying these differences can open possibilities for tailoring film-mediated catalytic reactions by choice of the supporting metal oxide substrate.

EXPERIMENTS

The (0001) face of a single sapphire (α-Al₂O₃) sample exposed to water vapor and the surface of liquid water were probed by polarization dependent Sum Frequency Generation-Vibration Spectroscopy (SFG-VS). Molecular dynamics (MD) provided insight into the hydrogen bond populations and molecular orientations across films and liquid water.

FINDINGS

SFG-VS revealed a submonolayer film on sapphire exposed to 43% relative humidity (R.H.), and a multilayer film at 78% R.H. Polarization dependent SFG-VS spectra showed that median tilt angles of free OH bonds on the top of films are at ∼43° from the normal of the (0001) face but at 38° on neat liquid water. These values align with MD simulations, which also show that up to 36% of all OH bonds on films are free. This offers new means for understanding how interfacial reactions on sapphire-supported water films could contrast with those involving liquid water.

Interfaces of Gas-Aerosol Particles: Relative Humidity and Salt Concentration Effects

The growth of aerosol particles is intimately related to chemical reactions in the gas phase and particle phase and at gas-aerosol particle interfaces. While chemical reactions in gas and particle phases are well documented, there is very little information regarding interface-related reactions. The interface of gas-aerosol particles not only facilitates a physical channel for organic species to enter and exit but also provides a necessary lane for culturing chemical reactions. The physical and chemical properties of gas-particle interfaces have not been studied extensively, nor have the reactions occurring at the interfaces been well researched. This is mainly due to the fact that there is a lack of suitable in situ interface-sensitive analytical techniques for direct measurements of interfacial properties. The motivation behind this research is to understand how interfaces play a role in the growth of aerosol particles. We have developed in situ interface-specific second harmonic scattering to examine interfacial behaviors of molecules of aerosol particles under different relative humidity (RH) and salt concentrations. Both the relative humidity and salt concentration can change the particle size and the phase of the aerosol. RH not only varies the concentration of solutes inside aerosol particles but also changes interfacial hydration in local regions. Organic molecules were found to exhibit distinct behaviors at the interfaces and bulk on NaCl particles under different RH levels. Our quantitative analyses showed that the interfacial adsorption free energies remain unchanged while interfacial areas increase as the relative humidity increases. Furthermore, the surface tension of NaCl particles decreases as the RH increases. Our experimental findings from the novel nonlinear optical scattering technique stress the importance of interfacial water behaviors on aerosol particles in the atmosphere.

Structure and Dynamics of Water at the Water-Air Interface Using First-Principles Molecular Dynamics Simulations. II. NonLocal vs Empirical van der Waals Corrections

van der Waals (vdW) correction schemes have been recognized to be essential for an accurate description of liquid water in first-principles molecular dynamics simulation. The description of the structure and dynamics of water is governed by the type of the vdW corrections. So far, two vdW correction schemes have been often used: empirical vdW corrections and nonlocal vdW corrections. In this paper, we assess the influence of the empirical vs nonlocal vdW correction schemes on the structure and dynamics of water at the water–air interface. Since the structure of water at the water–air interface is established by a delicate balance of hydrogen bond formation and breaking, the simulation at the water–air interface provides a unique platform to testify as to the heterogeneous interaction of water. We used the metrics [Ohto et al. J. Chem. Theory Comput., 2019, 15, 595−60230468702] which are directly connected with the sum-frequency generation spectroscopic measurement. We find that the overall performance of nonlocal vdW methods is either similar or worse compared to the empirical vdW methods. We also investigated the performance of the optB88-DRSLL functional, which showed slightly less accuracy than the revPBE-D3 method. We conclude that the revPBE-D3 method shows the best performance for describing the interfacial water.

Orientational Distribution of Free O-H Groups of Interfacial Water is Exponential

The orientational distribution of free O-H (O-D) groups at the H_{2}O- (D_{2}O-)air interface is investigated using combined molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and sum-frequency generation (SFG) experiments. The average angle of the free O-H groups, relative to the surface normal, is found to be ∼63°, substantially larger than previous estimates of 30°-40°. This discrepancy can be traced to erroneously assumed Gaussian or stepwise orientational distributions of free O-H groups. Instead, the MD simulation and SFG measurement reveal a broad and exponentially decaying orientational distribution. The broad orientational distribution indicates the presence of the free O-H group pointing down to the bulk. We ascribe the origin of such free O-H groups to the presence of capillary waves on the water surface.

Polarization-Dependent SFG Spectroscopy of Near Ambient Pressure CO Adsorption on Pt(111) and Pd(111) Revisited

Polarization-dependent sum frequency generation (SFG) vibrational spectroscopy was employed to examine CO overlayers on Pt(111) and Pd(111) single crystal surfaces at room temperature. Utilizing different polarization combinations (SSP and PPP) of the visible and SFG light allows to determine the molecular orientation (tilt angle) of interface molecules but the analysis of the measured \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$I_{\text{ppp}}/I_{\text{ssp}}$$\end{document}Ippp/Issp is involved and requires a proper optical interface model. For CO/Pt(111), the hyperpolarizability ratio \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$\left( {R={\beta _{aac}}/{\beta _{ccc}}={\beta _{bbc}}/{\beta _{ccc}}} \right)$$\end{document}R=βaac/βccc=βbbc/βccc is not exactly known and varying R in the range 0.1–0.5 yields tilt angles of 40°–0°, respectively. Based on the known perpendicular adsorption of CO on Pt, an exact R-value of 0.49 was determined. Polarization-dependent SFG spectra in the pressure range 10⁻⁴ to 36 mbar did not indicate any change of the tilt angle of adsorbed CO. Modeling also indicated a strong dependence of \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$${I_{{\text{ppp}}}}/{I_{{\text{ssp}}}}$$\end{document}Ippp/Issp on the incidence angles of visible and IR laser beams. Complementing previous low temperature/low pressure data, room temperature CO adsorption on Pd(111) was examined from 10⁻⁶ to 250 mbar. The absolute PPP and SSP spectral intensities on Pt and Pd were simulated, as well as the expected \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$${I_{{\text{ppp}}}}/{I_{{\text{ssp}}}}$$\end{document}Ippp/Issp ratios. Although CO on Pt and Pd should exhibit similar intensities (at high CO coverage), the higher \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$${I_{{\text{ppp}}}}/{I_{{\text{ssp}}}}$$\end{document}Ippp/Issp ratio for Pd (48 vs. 27 on Pt) renders the detection of adsorbed CO in SSP spectra difficult. The presence or absence of CO species in SSP spectra can thus not simply be correlated to tilted or perpendicular CO molecules, respectively. Careful modeling, including not only molecular and interface properties, but also the experimental configuration (incidence angles), is certainly required even for seemingly simple adsorbate–substrate systems.

pH-Responsive Gas-Water-Solid Interface for Multiphase Catalysis

Despite their wide utility in laboratory synthesis and industrial fabrication, gas-water-solid multiphase catalysis reactions often suffer from low reaction efficiency because of the low solubility of gases in water. Using a surface-modification protocol, interface-active silica nanoparticles were synthesized. Such nanoparticles can assemble at the gas-water interface, stabilizing micrometer-sized gas bubbles in water, and disassemble by tuning of the aqueous phase pH. The ability to stabilize gas microbubbles can be finely tuned through variation of the surface-modification protocol. As proof of this concept, Pd and Au were deposited on these silica nanoparticles, leading to interface-active catalysts for aqueous hydrogenation and oxidation, respectively. With such catalysts, conventional gas-water-solid multiphase reactions can be transformed to H2 or O2 microbubble reaction systems. The resultant microbubble reaction systems exhibit significant catalysis efficiency enhancement effects compared with conventional multiphase reactions. The significant improvement is attributed to the pronounced increase in reaction interface area that allows for the direct contact of gas, water, and solid phases. At the end of reaction, the microbubbles can be removed from the reaction systems through changing the pH, allowing product separation and catalyst recycling. Interestingly, the alcohol oxidation activation energy for the microbubble systems is much lower than that for the conventional multiphase reaction, also indicating that the developed microbubble system may be a valuable platform to design innovative multiphase catalysis reactions.