Comparative Adsorption of Acetone on Water and Ice Surfaces

Abstract

Small organic molecules on ice and water surfaces are ubiquitous in nature and play a crucial role in many environmentally relevant processes. Herein, we combine surface‐specific vibrational spectroscopy and a controllable flow cell apparatus to investigate the molecular adsorption of acetone onto the basal plane of single‐crystalline hexagonal ice with a large surface area. By comparing the adsorption of acetone on the ice/air and the water/air interface, we observed two different types of acetone adsorption, as apparent from the different responses of both the free O−H and the hydrogen‐bonded network vibrations for ice and liquid water. Adsorption on ice occurs preferentially through interactions with the free OH group, while the interaction of acetone with the surface of liquid water appears less specific.

Interfacial Vibrational Dynamics of Ice Ih and Liquid Water

“…The long vibrational lifetime of free-OH groups reflects their long physical lifetime, offering a potential explanation for kinetic trapping mechanisms 42 on the surface of ice, and for the isolation of reaction intermediates and preferential stabilization of charged species on the surface. 43 Differences in binding mechanism 28 and vibrational relaxation rates may account for differences in photochemical reactions on the surfaces of ice and water. 44 , 45 …”

Preise der Bunsengesellschaft

“…Bonn erforscht die Struktur und Dynamik von Molekülen und intermolekularen Wechselwirkungen an Grenzflächen sowie den Transport von Molekülen und Ladungen über Grenzflächen. Seine Gruppe verglich kürzlich die Adsorption von Aceton an Wasser‐ und Eisoberflächen in einer Angewandte‐Chemie ‐Zuschrift …”

Deutsche Bunsengesellschaft Awards

“…Bonn's research aims to reveal the structure and dynamics of molecules and intermolecular interactions at interfaces, as well as transport of molecules and charge across those interfaces. His group published a Communication in Angewandte Chemie on the comparative adsorption of acetone on water and ice surfaces …”