Comment on “Phase reference in phase-sensitive sum-frequency vibrational spectroscopy” [J. Chem. Phys. 144, 244711 (2016)]

How Thick is the Air-Water Interface?─A Direct Experimental Measurement of the Decay Length of the Interfacial Structural Anisotropy

The air-water interface is a highly prevalent phase boundary impacting many natural and artificial processes. The significance of this interface arises from the unique properties of water molecules within the interfacial region, with a crucial parameter being the thickness of its structural anisotropy, or "healing depth". This quantity has been extensively assessed by various simulations which have converged to a prediction of a remarkably short length of ∼6 Å. Despite the absence of any direct experimental measurement of this quantity, this predicted value has surprisingly become widely accepted as fact. Using an advancement in nonlinear vibrational spectroscopy, we provide the first measurement of this thickness and, indeed, find it to be ∼6-8 Å, finally confirming the prior predictions. Lastly, by combining the experimental results with depth-dependent second-order spectra calculated from ab initio parametrized molecular dynamics simulations, which are also in excellent agreement with this experimental result, we shed light on this surprisingly short correlation length of molecular orientations at the interface.

Bulklike Vibrational Coupling of Surface Water Revealed by Sum-Frequency Generation Spectroscopy

Vibrational coupling between interfacial water molecules is important for energy dissipation after on-water chemistry, yet intensely debated. Here, we quantify the interfacial vibrational coupling strength through the linewidth of surface-specific vibrational spectra of the water's O─H (O─D) stretch region for neat H_{2}O/D_{2}O and their isotopic mixtures. The local-field-effect-corrected experimental SFG spectra reveal that the vibrational coupling between hydrogen-bonded interfacial water O─H groups is comparable to that in bulk water, despite the effective density reduction at the interface.

Appraisal of TIP4P-type models at water surface

In view of the current situation in which non-polarizable rigid water models have been scarcely examined against surface-specific properties, we appraise TIP4P-type models at the liquid water surface on the basis of heterodyne-detected sum frequency generation (HD-SFG) spectroscopy. We find in the HD-SFG spectrum of the water surface that the peak frequency of the hydrogen-bonded OH band, the half width at half maximum of the hydrogen-bonded OH band, and the full width at half maximum of the free OH band are best reproduced by TIP4P, TIP4P/Ew, and TIP4P/Ice, respectively, whereas it is already well known that TIP4P/2005 best reproduces the surface tension. These TIP4P-type models perform better at the water surface in terms of the present appraisal items than some polarizable models in the literature.

Progress in phase-sensitive sum frequency generation spectroscopy

Sum frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy is a unique and powerful tool for investigating surfaces and interfaces at the molecular level. Phase-sensitive SFG (PS-SFG) is an upgraded technique that can overcome the inherent drawbacks of conventional SFG. Here we review several methods of PS-SFG developed and reported in 1990-2020. We introduce how and by which group each PS-SFG method was designed and built in terms of interferometer implementation for optical heterodyne detection, with one exception of a recent numerical method that does not rely on interferometry. We also discuss how PS-SFG solved some typical problems for aqueous interfaces that were once left open by conventional SFG. These problems and their solutions are good examples to demonstrate why PS-SFG is essential. In addition, we briefly note a few terminology issues related with PS-SFG to avoid confusion.

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.

Ab initio Modeling of the Vibrational Sum-Frequency Generation Spectrum of Interfacial Water

Understanding the structural and dynamical features of interfacial water is of greatest interest in physics, chemistry, biology, and materials science. Vibrational sum-frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy, which is sensitive to the molecular orientation and dynamics on the surfaces or at the interfaces, allows one to study a wide variety of interfacial systems. The structural and dynamical features of interfacial water at the air/water interface have been extensively investigated by SFG spectroscopy. However, the interpretations of the spectroscopic features have been under intense debate. Here, we report a simulated SFG spectrum of the air/water interface based on ab initio molecular dynamics simulations, which covers the OH stretching, bending, and libration modes of interfacial water. Quantitative agreement between our present simulations and the most recent experimental studies ensures that ab initio simulations predict unbiased structural features and electrical properties of interfacial systems. By utilizing the kinetic energy spectral density (KESD) analysis to decompose the simulated spectra, the spectroscopic features can then be assigned to specific hydrogen-bonding configurations of interfacial water molecules.

Proton Order toward the Surface of Ice Ih Revealed by Heterodyne-Detected Sum Frequency Generation Spectroscopy

Using heterodyne-detected sum frequency generation (HD-SFG) spectroscopy, we investigated surface proton order at the basal, primary prism, and secondary prism faces of single-crystalline ice I_h at ca. 130 K. The complex phase of the obtained spectra clearly indicates that second-order nonlinear polarization from which the HD-SFG signal arises is generated exclusively at the surfaces. This suggests surface proton ordering along the normal, whereas the bulk remains proton-disordered, as is well known for ice I_h. A strong positive peak observed in the HD-SFG spectra enables us to determine the "direction" of the surface proton order as "H-up", that is, the hydrogen atom of the OH group pointing away from the bulk, irrespective of the ice faces. Reliable HD-SFG measurements carried out in the present study have greatly advanced our understanding of surface structure of ice I_h.

Vibrational Coupling at the Topmost Surface of Water Revealed by Heterodyne-Detected Sum Frequency Generation Spectroscopy

Unraveling vibrational coupling is the key to consistently interpret vibrational spectra of complex molecular systems. The vibrational spectrum of the water surface heavily suffers from vibrational coupling, which hinders complete understanding of the molecular structure and dynamics of the water surface. Here we apply heterodyne-detected sum frequency generation spectroscopy to the water surface and accomplish the assignment of a weak vibrational band located at the lower energy side of the free OH stretch. We find that this band is due to a combination mode of the hydrogen-bonded OH stretch and a low-frequency intermolecular vibration, and this combination band appears in the surface vibrational spectrum through anharmonic vibrational coupling that takes place exclusively at the topmost surface.

Both Inter- and Intramolecular Coupling of O-H Groups Determine the Vibrational Response of the Water/Air Interface

Vibrational coupling is relevant not only for dissipation of excess energy after chemical reactions but also for elucidating molecular structure and dynamics. It is particularly important for O-H stretch vibrational spectra of water, for which it is known that in bulk both intra- and intermolecular coupling alter the intensity and line shape of the spectra. In contrast with bulk, the unified picture of the inter/intra-molecular coupling of O-H groups at the water-air interface has been lacking. Here, combining sum-frequency generation experiments and simulation for isotopically diluted water and alcohols, we unveil effects of inter- and intramolecular coupling on the vibrational spectra of interfacial water. Our results show that both inter- and intramolecular coupling contribute to the O-H stretch vibrational response of the neat H₂O surface, with intramolecular coupling generating a double-peak feature, while the intermolecular coupling induces a significant red shift in the O-H stretch response.