Groundbreaking Water Molecule Discovery Challenges Existing Models

Advanced Technique Reveals Unexpected Behavior of Ions at Water/Air Interface

Researchers from the University of Cambridge and the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research have discovered that water molecules at the surface of salt water are organized differently than previously thought.
The team used a more sophisticated form of a technique called vibrational sum-frequency generation (VSFG), known as heterodyne-detected (HD)-VSFG, to study the behavior of water molecules at the intersection of air and water.
Both positively charged ions, called cations, and negatively charged ions, called anions, are depleted from the water/air interface, contradicting textbook models.
The cations and anions of simple electrolytes orient water molecules in both up- and down-orientation, a reversal of textbook models.
This discovery could lead to better atmospheric chemistry models and other applications, including potential applications in batteries and energy storage.