Hydrated-electron resonance enhancement O-H stretching vibration of water hexamer at air-water interface

Sensitivity, precision, and accuracy of fs-LIBS for heavy metal detection in flowing aqueous solutions

This investigation employs femtosecond laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (fs-LIBS) to measure the concentrations of chromium (Cr), lead (Pb), and copper (Cu) in flowing aqueous solutions. The fs pulsed laser excites the water, generating plasma in a dynamic setting that prevents liquid splashing-a notable advantage over static methods. The flowing water column maintains a stable liquid level, circumventing the laser focus irregularities due to liquid-level fluctuations. Calibration curves, based on a linear function, reveal limits of detection (LODs) as low as 0.0179 μg/mL for Cr, 0.1301 μg/mL for Pb, and 0.0120 μg/mL for Cu. The reliability of the experiment is confirmed by R2 values exceeding 0.99. These findings offer valuable insights for the analysis of trace heavy metals in flowing aqueous solutions using fs-LIBS, demonstrating the technique's potential for environmental monitoring.

Cationic complex-enhanced C-H stimulated Raman scattering in naphthalene-benzene solution

Ring skeleton vibrations of aromatic series are dominant in Raman spectroscopy compared with the C-H stretching vibrations. When a laser-induced plasma (LIP) was generated in a mixed solution of naphthalene and benzene, an anomalous enhancement was observed in stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) of aromatic C-H stretching vibrations of naphthalene (3055 cm^-1). However, SRS of C-H stretching vibrations of benzene at 3060 cm^-1 disappeared. The LIP produced electrons and cations, and the transient production of ionized material contributed to the enhancement of SRS of C-H vibrations of naphthalene. Density functional theory calculations showed that the C-H Raman activity of the naphthalene molecules in (naphthalene-benzene)⁺ heterodimer was significantly enhanced compared with neutral naphthalene. In addition, SRS pulse durations were better compressed in pure benzene and naphthalene due to the self-focusing effect.

Estimating the effective pressure from nanosecond laser-induced breakdown in water

Nanosecond laser-induced breakdown (LIB) in liquids (e.g., water) can produce dynamic high pressure and high temperature. However, since high pressure needs to negate the effect of high temperature to some degree, it is only partially effective. As a result, it is difficult to directly measure the effective pressure due to the transient and complex LIB process. Here, we presented a simple method based on Raman spectroscopy to indirectly determine the effective pressure caused by LIB in liquid pure H₂O and low concentration H₂O-H₂O₂ mixtures. By comparing the Raman shifts of the ice-VII mode for pure H₂O and H₂O-H₂O₂ mixtures under laser pumping and static high pressure, the LIB effective pressure can be first estimated. The empirical equation was then derived base on the correlation of the LIB effective pressure to ice-VII-point stimulated Raman scattering thresholds for pure and mixture water solutions, which can be used to estimate the LIB effective pressures for other different mixture water solutions with the uncertainty of 0.14-0.25 Gpa. Hopefully, our study here would advance the measurements of effective pressure in the LIB process.

Picosecond stimulated Raman scattering at 3000 and 3430 cm-1 OH vibrations without optical breakdown

For the first time, to the best of our knowledge, stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) of picosecond laser pulses without optical breakdown has been detected simultaneously (as the first Stokes and anti-Stokes paired components) at ∼3430 and ∼3000cm^-1 vibrations of water OH band. These components were generated coaxially to the pump beam in the forward direction as axial and conical ring beams, respectively, when the pump beam was focused at the water-air interface. We suggest an explanation of these new SRS phenomena by non-collinear four-wave parametric interaction.

Dynamic high pressure induced strong and weak hydrogen bonds enhanced by pre-resonance stimulated Raman scattering in liquid water

355 nm pulsed laser is employed to excite pre-resonance forward stimulated Raman scattering (FSRS) of liquid water at ambient temperature. Due to the shockwave induced dynamic high pressure, the obtained Raman spectra begin to exhibit double peaks distribution at 3318 and 3373 cm^-1 with the input energy of 17 mJ,which correspond with OH stretching vibration with strong and weak hydrogen (H) bonds. With laser energy rising from 17 to 27 mJ, the Stokes line at 3318 cm^-1 shifts to 3255 and 3230 cm^-1 because of the high pressure being enlarged. When the energy is up to 32 mJ, only 3373 cm^-1 peak exists. The strong and weak H bond exhibit quite different energy dependent behaviors.

Structure of water molecules from Raman measurements of cooling different concentrations of NaOH solutions

The Raman spectra of different concentrations of NaOH solutions have been successfully obtained at normal pressure by cooling. The results indicate that the icing point and the ice phase transition temperature of NaOH solutions decrease with increasing concentrations. Particularly, the different concentrations (2, 4, 6 or 8 and 12M) take place the liquid- III- Ih, liquid- V- Ih, liquid- VI- XV and liquid- IX- VI phase transition, respectively. In addition, the three peaks of around 3524, 3580 and 3624cm^-1 appear spectra of the NaOH solutions at low temperature.

Study of the transient "free" OH radical generated in H2O-H2O2 mixtures by stimulated Raman scattering

Forward and backward stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) were studied in the H₂O₂-H₂O mixtures by a strong excitation laser with 532nm. Only the backward SRS (BSRS) of the H₂O₂-H₂O system shows an unexpected SRS shoulder peak at around 3600cm^-1, which is similar to the characteristic peak of "free" OH radical. The generation of the "free" OH radical is mainly attributed to the dissociation of hydrogen peroxide (HP) molecules. Simultaneously, the ionization of HP-water clusters generates a part of "free" OH radical under the Laser-induced breakdown (LIB). The interaction of water and HP is also discussed.