Characterizing the Orderliness of Interfacial Water through Stretching Vibrations

Abstract

Spatial orderliness, which is the orderly structure of molecules, differs significantly between interfacial water and bulk water. Understanding this property is essential for various applications in both natural and engineered environments. However, the subnanometer thickness of interfacial water presents challenges for direct and rapid characterization of its structural orderliness. Herein, through molecular dynamics simulations and infrared spectral analysis of interfacial water in a graphene slit pore, we reveal a hyperbolic tangent relationship between the water ordering and its O-H stretching information in the infrared spectrum. Specifically, O-H symmetric stretching dominated in the highly ordered water structure, while a transition to the asymmetric stretching corresponded to an increase in the degree of disorder. Thus, the O-H stretching behavior could serve as a useful and quick assessment of the orderliness of interfacial water. This work provided insights into interfacial water's unique molecular network and structural dynamics and identified the stretching vibrations' key role in its degree of order, providing insight for fields such as nanotechnology, biology, and material science.