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Updated: Jul 3, 2026

Self-Assembly of Hybrid Lipid Membranes Doped with Hydrophobic Organic Molecules at the Water/Air Interface
Published on: May 1, 2020
Hydronium and hydroxide at the interface between water and hydrophobic media
Robert Vácha1, Dominik Horinek, Max L Berkowitz
1Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and Center for Biomolecules and Complex Molecular Systems, Flemingovo nám. 2, Prague 6, Czech Republic.
Abstract:
The behavior of hydronium and hydroxide ions at the water/alkane, water/vapor, and water/rigid wall interfaces was investigated by means of molecular dynamics simulations. All these interfaces exhibit a strong affinity for hydronium, which is in agreement with spectroscopic and low pH zeta-potential measurements. Except for the water/rigid wall interface, which strongly structures water and weakly attracts OH(-), none of the other investigated interfaces shows an appreciable accumulation of hydroxide. This computational result is at odds with the interpretation of higher pH zeta-potential and titration experiments, however, it is supported by surface selective spectroscopies of the surface of water and hydroxide solutions.
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