Surface organization of aqueous MgCl2 and application to atmospheric marine aerosol chemistry.

Inorganic salts in marine aerosols play an active role in atmospheric chemistry, particularly in coastal urban regions. The study of the interactions of these ions with water molecules at the aqueous surface helps to elucidate the role of inorganic cations and anions in atmospheric processes. We present surface vibrational sum frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopic and molecular dynamics (MD) studies of aqueous MgCl(2) surfaces as models of marine aerosol. Spectroscopy results reveal that the disturbance of the hydrogen bonding environment of the air/aqueous interface is dependent on the MgCl(2) concentration. At low concentrations (< 1 M) minor changes are observed. At concentrations above 1 M the hydrogen bonding environment is highly perturbed. The 2.1 M intermediate concentration solution shows the largest SFG response relative to the other solutions including concentrations as high as 4.7 M. The enhancement of SFG signal observed for the 2.1 M solution is attributed to a larger SFG-active interfacial region and more strongly oriented water molecules relative to other concentrations. MD simulations reveal concentration dependent compression of stratified layers of ions and water orientation differences at higher concentrations. SFG and MD studies of the dangling OH of the surface water reveal that the topmost water layer is affected structurally at high concentrations (> 3.1 M). Finally, the MgCl(2) concentration effect on a fatty acid coated aqueous surface was investigated and SFG spectra reveal that deprotonation of the carboxylic acid of atmospherically relevant palmitic acid (PA) is accompanied by binding of the Mg(2+) to the PA headgroup.

Ionic binding of Na+ versus K+ to the carboxylic acid headgroup of palmitic acid monolayers studied by vibrational sum frequency generation spectroscopy.

Ionic binding of alkali ions Na(+) and K(+) to the carboxylic acid headgroups of fatty acid monolayers is studied as a proxy toward understanding the fundamental chemistry in cell biology. In this study, we used broad-bandwidth sum frequency generation (BBSFG) vibrational spectroscopy to investigate the ionic binding event that leads to deprotonation and complex formation of fatty acid headgroups. Palmitic acid (C(15)H(31)COOH) exists as a monolayer on aqueous surfaces. Surface vibrational stretch modes of palmitic acid from 1400 cm(-1) to 3700 cm(-1) were observed (nu(s)-COO(-), nu-C horizontal lineO, nu-C-H, nu-O-H of -COOH, free OH). Palmitic acid is mostly protonated at the aqueous surface at neutral pH (approximately 6). However, various degrees of deprotonation are initiated by the introduction of Na(+) and K(+) that results in the complexation of K(+):COO(-) and solvent separated Na(+):COO(-). Evidence in several spectral regions indicates that K(+) exhibits stronger ionic binding affinity to the carboxylate anion relative to Na(+).

Interfacial water structure and effects of Mg2+ and Ca2+ binding to the COOH headgroup of a palmitic acid monolayer studied by sum frequency spectroscopy.

The interfacial hydrogen-bonding network that uniquely exists in between a palmitic acid (PA) monolayer and the underneath surface water molecules was studied using vibrational sum frequency generation (VSFG) spectroscopy. Perturbations due to cation binding of Mg(2+) and Ca(2+) were identified. The polar ordering of the interfacial water molecules under the influence of the surface field of dissociated PA headgroups was observed. Only a fraction of PA molecules are deprotonated at the air/water interface with a neat water subphase, yet the submonolayer concentration of negatively charged PA headgroups induces considerable polar ordering on the interfacial water molecules relative to the neat water surface without the PA film. Upon addition of calcium and magnesium chloride salts to the subphase of the PA monolayer, the extent of polar ordering of the interfacial water molecules was reduced. Ca(2+) was observed to have the greater impact on the interfacial hydrogen-bonding network relative to Mg(2+), consistent with the greater binding affinity of Ca(2+) toward the carboxylate group relative to Mg(2+) and thereby modifying the interfacial charge. At high-salt concentrations, the already disrupted hydrogen-bonding network reorganizes and reverts to its original hydrogen-bonding structure as that which appeared at the neat salt solution surface without a PA monolayer.

Binding of Mg(2+) and Ca(2+) to palmitic acid and deprotonation of the COOH headgroup studied by vibrational sum frequency generation spectroscopy.

At the air/liquid interface, cation binding specificity of alkaline earth cations, Mg(2+) and Ca(2+), with the biologically relevant ligand carboxylate (COO(-)) using vibrational sum frequency generation spectroscopy is reported. The empirical evidence strongly supports that the ionic binding strength is much stronger for Ca(2+) to COO(-) than that for Mg(2+). We conclude that at a near-neutral pH, the mechanism that governs Ca(2+) binding to COO(-) is accompanied by commensurate deprotonation of the carboxyl headgroup. In addition, surface molecular structure and ion concentration influence the cation binding behavior at the air/liquid interface. In a 0.1 M Ca(2+)(aq) solution, Ca(2+) initially favors forming ionic complexes in a 2:1 bridging configuration (2Ca(2+):1COO(-)) but 1:1 chelating bidentate complexes (1Ca(2+):1COO(-)) gradually emerge as secondary species as the system reaches equilibrium. As the Ca(2+) concentration rises to 0.3 M, the primary complexed species exists in the 2:1 bridging configuration. Unlike Ca(2+), Mg(2+) at 0.1 and 0.3 M favors a solvent-separated ionic complex with COO(-).

Shedding light on water structure at air-aqueous interfaces: ions, lipids, and hydration.

An account is given of the current state of understanding of aqueous salt, acid, and lipid/water surfaces, interfacial depth, and molecular organization within the air-solution interfacial region. Water structure, hydration, surface propensity of solutes, and surface organization are discussed. In this perspective, vibrational sum frequency generation spectroscopic studies of aqueous surfaces are interpreted. Comment on future directions within the field of aqueous surface structure is provided.