Emergence of Electric Fields at the Water-C12E6 Surfactant Interface

We study the properties of the interface of water and the surfactant hexaethylene glycol monododecyl ether (C12E6) with a combination of heterodyne-detected vibrational sum frequency generation (HD-VSFG), Kelvin-probe measurements, and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. We observe that the addition of the hydrogen-bonding surfactant C12E6, close to the critical micelle concentration (CMC), induces a drastic enhancement in the hydrogen bond strength of the water molecules close to the interface, as well as a flip in their net orientation. The mutual orientation of the water and C12E6 molecules leads to the emergence of a broad (similar to 3 nm) interface with a large electric field of similar to 1 V/nm, as evidenced by the Kelvin-probe measurements and MD simulations. Our findings may open the door for the design of novel electric-field-tuned catalytic and light-harvesting systems anchored at the water-surfactant-air interface.

Bakker, Huib J.AMOLF, NL-1098 XG Amsterdam, Netherlands. (författare)
Franklin-Mergarejo, RicardoAbdus Salaam Int Ctr Theoret Phys, I-34151 Trieste, Italy. (författare)
Morzan, Uriel N.Abdus Salaam Int Ctr Theoret Phys, I-34151 Trieste, Italy. (författare)
Falciani, GabrielePolitecn Torino, Energy Dept, I-10129 Turin, Italy. (författare)
Bergamasco, LucaPolitecn Torino, Energy Dept, I-10129 Turin, Italy. (författare)
Versluis, JanAMOLF, NL-1098 XG Amsterdam, Netherlands. (författare)
Sen, IndraneelUppsala universitet,Fysikalisk kemi(Swepub:uu)indse822 (författare)
Dante, SilviaItalian Inst Technol, Mat Characterizat Facil, I-16163 Genoa, Italy. (författare)
Chiavazzo, EliodoroPolitecn Torino, Energy Dept, I-10129 Turin, Italy. (författare)
Hassanali, Ali A.Abdus Salaam Int Ctr Theoret Phys, I-34151 Trieste, Italy. (författare)
AMOLF, NL-1098 XG Amsterdam, Netherlands.Abdus Salaam Int Ctr Theoret Phys, I-34151 Trieste, Italy. (creator_code:org_t)

Ingår i:Journal of the American Chemical Society: American Chemical Society (ACS)143:37, s. 15103-151120002-78631520-5126

Av författaren/redakt...: Gera, Rahul; Bakker, Huib J.; Franklin-Mergare ...; Morzan, Uriel N.; Falciani, Gabrie ...; Bergamasco, Luca; visa fler...; Versluis, Jan; Sen, Indraneel; Dante, Silvia; Chiavazzo, Eliod ...; Hassanali, Ali A ...; visa färre...

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