The opposing effect of butanol and butyric acid on the abundance of bromide and iodide at the aqueous solution-air interface.

The efficient oxidation of iodide and bromide at the aqueous solution-air interface of the ocean or of sea spray aerosol particles had been suggested to be related to their surface propensity. The ubiquitous presence of organic material at the ocean surface calls for an assessment of the impact of often surface-active organic compounds on the interfacial density of halide ions. We used in situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy with a liquid micro-jet to obtain chemical composition information at aqueous solution-vapor interfaces from mixed aqueous solutions containing bromide or iodide and 1-butanol or butyric acid as organic surfactants.

Rapid Water Transport through Organic Layers on Ice.

Processes involving atmospheric aerosol and cloud particles are affected by condensation of organic compounds that are omnipresent in the atmosphere. On ice particles, organic compounds with hydrophilic functional groups form hydrogen bonds with the ice and orient their hydrophobic groups away from the surface. The organic layer has been expected to constitute a barrier to gas uptake, but recent experimental studies suggest that the accommodation of water molecules on ice is only weakly affected by condensed short-chain alcohol layers.

Mixed DPPC/POPC Monolayers: All-atom Molecular Dynamics Simulations and Langmuir Monolayer Experiments.

To elucidate the consequences of the saturated-unsaturated nature of lipid surface films, monolayers formed by an equimolar mixture of 1-palmitoyl-2-oleyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC) and 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC) lipids are investigated in a wide range of surface pressures. As such mixtures share some features with naturally-occurring surfactants, for example the lung surfactant, the systems are studied at the temperature relevant for human body. All-atom molecular dynamics simulations and Langmuir trough experiments are employed.

The Partitioning of Small Aromatic Molecules to Air-Water and Phospholipid Interfaces Mediated by Non-Hydrophobic Interactions.

Phenylalanine has an important role both in normal biological function and in disease states such as phenylketonuria (PKU) and amyloid fibril diseases. Two crucial aspects of phenylalanine behavior in biological systems are its preferential partitioning into membranes and its propensity to cluster. In order to examine the intermolecular interactions that give rise to this behavior, the surface partitioning behavior was investigated for a series of molecules structurally related to phenylalanine (phenylglycine, phenylacetic acid, and tyrosine) both experimentally and by molecular dynamics simulations.

Investigation of Mixed Surfactant Films at Water Surface Using Molecular Dynamics Simulations.

Multicomponent Langmuir monolayers are important models of organic coatings of naturally occurring water-vapor interfaces such as the surfaces of oceans or aerosol particles. We investigated mixed monolayers comprised of palmitic acid, C15H31COOH (PA) and 1-bromoalkanes of different chain length (C5, C10, and C16) at the air-water interface employing classical molecular dynamics simulations. Different composition ratios and lateral compression of the monolayers were considered.

Mechanism of anisotropic surface self-diffusivity at the prismatic ice-vapor interface.

Predictive theoretical models for mesoscopic roughening of ice require improved understanding of attachment kinetics occurring at the ice-vapor interface. Here, we use classical molecular dynamics to explore the generality and mechanics of a transition from anisotropic to isotropic self-diffusivity on exposed prismatic surfaces. We find that self-diffusion parallel to the crystallographic a-axis is favored over the c-axis at sub-melt temperatures below about -35 °C, for three different representations of the water-water intermolecular potential.

Lack of Aggregation of Molecules on Ice Nanoparticles.

Multiple molecules adsorbed on the surface of nanosized ice particles can either remain isolated or form aggregates, depending on their mobility. Such (non)aggregation may subsequently drive the outcome of chemical reactions that play an important role in atmospheric chemistry or astrochemistry. We present a molecular beam experiment in which the controlled number of guest molecules is deposited on the water and argon nanoparticles in a pickup chamber and their aggregation is studied mass spectrometrically.

Interaction of L-Phenylalanine with a Phospholipid Monolayer at the Water-Air Interface.

The interaction of L-phenylalanine with a 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC) monolayer at the air-water interface was explored using a combination of experimental techniques and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. By means of Langmuir trough methods and Brewster angle microscopy, L-phenylalanine was shown to significantly alter the interfacial tension and the surface domain morphology of the DPPC film. In addition, confocal microscopy was used to explore the aggregation state of L-phenylalanine in the bulk aqueous phase.

Spectroscopic properties of benzene at the air-ice interface: a combined experimental-computational approach.

A combined experimental and computational approach was used to study the spectroscopic properties of benzene at the ice-air interface at 253 and 77 K in comparison with its spectroscopic behavior in aqueous solutions. Benzene-contaminated ice samples were prepared either by shock-freezing of benzene aqueous solutions or by benzene vapor-deposition on pure ice grains and examined using UV diffuse reflectance and emission spectroscopies. Neither the absorption nor excitation nor emission spectra provided unambiguous evidence of benzene associates on the ice surface even at a higher surface coverage.

Adsorption, mobility, and self-association of naphthalene and 1-methylnaphthalene at the water-vapor interface.

The adsorption, mobility, and self-association of naphthalene (NPH) and 1-methylnaphthalene (1MN), two of the simplest polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), at the surface of liquid water at 289 K were investigated using classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and free energy profile calculations across the water-vapor interface. Both NPH and 1MN, which exhibit a strong preference to be adsorbed at the water-vapor interface, are found to readily self-associate at the water surface, adopting mostly configurations with distinctly nonparallel arrangement of the two monomers. The additional methyl group of 1MN represents only a minor perturbation in terms of the hydration properties, interfacial orientation, and self-association with respect to NPH.

Interactions of gaseous HNO3 and water with individual and mixed alkyl self-assembled monolayers at room temperature.

The major removal processes for gaseous nitric acid (HNO3) in the atmosphere are dry and wet deposition onto various surfaces. The surface in the boundary layer is often covered with organic films, but the interaction of gaseous HNO3 with them is not well understood. To better understand the factors controlling the uptake of gaseous nitric acid and its dissociation in organic films, studies were carried out using single component and mixtures of C8 and C18 alkyl self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) attached to a germanium (Ge) attenuated total reflectance (ATR) crystal upon which a thin layer of SiOx had been deposited.

Molecular dynamics simulations of small halogenated organics at the air-water interface: implications in water treatment and atmospheric chemistry.

Free energy profiles associated with transfer of chlorinated and brominated halomethane molecules from the gas phase across the water-vapor interface to the aqueous phase were calculated using classical molecular dynamics simulations. The investigated species include chloromethane (CH3Cl), bromomethane (CH3Br), dichloromethane (CH2Cl2), dibromomethane (CH2Br2), chloroform (CHCl3), and bromoform (CHBr3). The employed halomethane force field was tuned by scaling up the atomic charges to reproduce the experimental hydration free energies.

Comparison of selected polarizable and nonpolarizable water models in molecular dynamics simulations of ice I(h).

We present a molecular dynamics simulation study in which we determined the melting point of ice I(h) for the polarizable SWM4-NDP water model (Lamoureux et al., Chem. Phys.

Arrhenius analysis of anisotropic surface self-diffusion on the prismatic facet of ice.

We present an Arrhenius analysis of self-diffusion on the prismatic surface of ice calculated from molecular dynamics simulations. The six-site water model of Nada and van der Eerden was used in combination with a structure-based criterion for determining the number of liquid-like molecules in the quasi-liquid layer. Simulated temperatures range from 230 K-287 K, the latter being just below the melting temperature of the model, 289 K.

Comparative molecular dynamics study of vapor-exposed basal, prismatic, and pyramidal surfaces of ice.

We present the results of molecular dynamics simulations in which ice I(h) slabs with free basal, prismatic, 28° pyramidal, and 14° pyramidal facets are exposed to vapor. All simulations were carried out at 250 K using a six-site intermolecular potential. Characteristics common to all facets include spontaneous development of a quasi-liquid layer (QLL) within ∼10 ns and QLL stratification into outer (ε(1)) and inner (ε(2)) sublayers having on average two and three hydrogen bonds, respectively.

The ice-vapor interface and the melting point of ice I(h) for the polarizable POL3 water model.

We use molecular dynamics simulations to determine the melting point of ice I(h) for the polarizable POL3 water force field (Dang, L. X. J.

Methyl and pentyl chloride in a microhydrated environment and at the liquid water-vapor interface: a theoretical study.

The solvation properties of methyl and pentyl chloride were studied in a microhydrated environment with up to 10 explicit water molecules and at the liquid water-vapor interface. Geometry optimizations were performed in the former case using the density functional based tight binding (DFTB), DFTB-D, and Møller-Plesset perturbation theory (MP2) levels of theory. The microhydrated alkyl chloride complexes were characterized in terms of hydrogen bonding and energetic stability.

Effect of magnesium cation on the interfacial properties of aqueous salt solutions.

Sodium chloride solutions have been used extensively as a model of seawater in both theoretical and experimental studies of the chemistry of sea salt aerosol. Many groups have found that chloride anions are present at the air-solution interface. This observation has been important for the development of a mechanism for the heterogeneous production of molecular chlorine from chloride in sea salt aerosol.

Water adsorption on hydrophilic and hydrophobic self-assembled monolayers as proxies for atmospheric surfaces. A grand canonical Monte Carlo simulation study.

Grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations are used to determine water adsorption on prototypical organic surfaces as a function of relative humidity at 300 K. Three model surfaces formed by well-ordered self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of alkanethiolate chains on gold are investigated: (i) a smooth hydrophobic surface of methyl-terminated C(7)-CH(3) SAM; (ii) a rough hydrophobic surface of randomly mixed two-component SAM, composed of equal fractions of C(5)-CH(3) and C(7)-CH(3) chains (C(5)/C(7)-CH(3) SAM); and (iii) a smooth hydrophilic surface of carboxyl-terminated C(7)-COOH SAM. The all atom CHARMM22 force field is used for the SAM chains together with the SPC/E model for water.

Solvation of magnesium dication: molecular dynamics simulation and vibrational spectroscopic study of magnesium chloride in aqueous solutions.

Magnesium dication plays many significant roles in biochemistry. While it is available to the environment from both ocean waters and mineral salts on land, its roles in environmental and atmospheric chemistry are still relatively unknown. Several pieces of experimental evidence suggest that contact ion pairing may not exist at ambient conditions in solutions of magnesium chloride up to saturation concentrations.

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.

Microscopic wetting of mixed self-assembled monolayers: a molecular dynamics study.

Molecular dynamics simulations are used to study the evolution of the organization of water molecules on the flat surface of well-ordered self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of eight-carbon alkanethiolate chains bound to a gold substrate, as the character of the surface is finely tuned from completely hydrophobic to completely hydrophilic, and as the level of hydration is increased from submonolayer to the equivalent of about two monolayers of water. The hydrophilicity of the SAM surfaces is increased by randomly replacing methyl-terminated alkanethiolate chains with carboxylic acid-terminated chains. We report on the evolution of the structure of the surfaces of the SAMs, both in the absence and presence of water, and the organization of water molecules and the extent of wetting of the surfaces, as the fraction of hydrophilic groups is increased.

Surface residence and uptake of methyl chloride and methyl alcohol at the air/water interface studied by vibrational sum frequency spectroscopy and molecular dynamics.

Vibrational sum frequency generation (VSFG) spectroscopy and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are used to study the surface residence and organization of gas-phase methyl halide and methyl alcohol molecules adsorbed to the air/water interface, while Raman spectroscopy is used to detect the uptake of the gas-phase species into the bulk aqueous phase. Spectroscopy results reveal the presence of methyl alcohol in the bulk and at the surface. Methyl chloride is detected in the bulk, but not at the surface.

Experimental and theoretical characterization of adsorbed water on self-assembled monolayers: understanding the interaction of water with atmospherically relevant surfaces.

A combination of experiments and molecular dynamic (MD) simulations has been applied to elucidate the nature of water on organic self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) before and after oxidation. SAMs mimic organics adsorbed on environmental urban surfaces. Water on clean or SAM-coated borosilicate glass surfaces was measured at equilibrium as a function of relative humidity (RH), using transmission Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy at 1 atm and 22 +/- 1 degrees C.