Structure of the interface between two polar liquids: nitrobenzene and water

Synchrotron X-ray reflectivity is used to study the electron density as a function of depth through the bulk nitrobenzene-water interface at four different temperatures. The measured interfacial width differs from the predictions of capillary wave theory with a progressively smaller deviation as the temperature is raised. Computer simulations suggest the presence of both molecular layering and dipole ordering parallel to the interface. Either layering or a bending rigidity, that can result from dipole ordering, can explain these measurements.