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Updated: Aug 16, 2026

Probing the Structure and Dynamics of Interfacial Water with Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and Spectroscopy
Published on: May 27, 2018
Identification of a wagging vibrational mode of water molecules at the water/vapor interface
Angela Perry1, Christine Neipert, Christina Ridley
1Department of Chemistry, University of South Florida, 4202 E. Fowler Ave., SCA400, Tampa, FL 33620-5250, USA.
Abstract:
An improved time correlation function description of sum frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy was applied to theoretically describe the water/vapor interface. The resulting spectra compare favorably in shape and relative magnitude to extant experimental results in the O-H stretching region of water. Further, the SFG spectra show a well-defined intermolecular mode at 875 cm(-1) that has significant intensity. The resonance is due to a wagging mode localized on a single water molecule. It represents a well-defined population of water molecules at the interface that, along with the free O-H modes, represent the dominant interfacial species.
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