Volume 58, Issue 10 pp. 3000-3013
Review

Ion Hydration and Ion Pairing as Probed by THz Spectroscopy

Dr. Gerhard Schwaab

Dr. Gerhard Schwaab

Lehrstuhl für Physikalische Chemie II, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, 44780 Bochum, Germany

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Dr. Federico Sebastiani

Dr. Federico Sebastiani

Lehrstuhl für Physikalische Chemie II, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, 44780 Bochum, Germany

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Prof. Martina Havenith

Corresponding Author

Prof. Martina Havenith

Lehrstuhl für Physikalische Chemie II, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, 44780 Bochum, Germany

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First published: 18 July 2018
Citations: 126

Graphical Abstract

Testing the water: The microscopic interplay between cations, anions, and water can be understood by THz-FTIR spectroscopy. Dissection of the spectra shows that the full response of the solvating water when dissolving salts can not be explained from the individual properties (such as the ion radius, the ion–water interaction, the structural hydration shell size, etc.) alone; cooperativity effects need to be included.

Abstract

Ion hydration is of pivotal importance for many fundamental processes. Various spectroscopic methods are used to study the retardation of the hydration bond dynamics in the vicinity of anions and cations. Here we introduce THz-FTIR spectroscopy as a powerful method to answer the open questions. We show through dissection of THz spectra that we can pinpoint characteristic absorption features that can be attributed to the rattling modes of strongly hydrating ions within their hydration cages as well as vibrationally induced charge fluctuations in the case of weakly hydrating ions. Further analysis yields information on anion–cation cooperativity, the size of the dynamic hydration shell, as well as the lifetimes of these collective ion-hydration water modes and their connecting thermal bath states. Our study provides evidence for a non-additive behavior, thus questioning the simplified Hofmeister model. THz spectroscopy enables ion pairing to be observed and quantified at a high salt concentration.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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