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Updated: Apr 14, 2026

Probing the Structure and Dynamics of Interfacial Water with Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and Spectroscopy
Published on: May 27, 2018
Molecular structure and dynamics of water at the water-air interface studied with surface-specific vibrational
Mischa Bonn1, Yuki Nagata, Ellen H G Backus
1Max-Planck-Institut für Polymerforschung, Abteilung für Molekulare Spektroskopie, Ackermannweg 10, 55128 Mainz (Germany). bonn@mpip-mainz.mpg.de.
Abstract:
Water interfaces provide the platform for many important biological, chemical, and physical processes. The water-air interface is the most common and simple aqueous interface and serves as a model system for water at a hydrophobic surface. Unveiling the microscopic (<1 nm) structure and dynamics of interfacial water at the water-vapor interface is essential for understanding the processes occurring on the water surface. At the water interface the network of very strong intermolecular interactions, hydrogen-bonds, is interrupted and the density of water is reduced. A central question regarding water at interfaces is the extent to which the structure and dynamics of water molecules are influenced by the interruption of the hydrogen-bonded network and thus differ from those of bulk water. Herein, we discuss recent advances in the study of interfacial water at the water-air interface using laser-based surface-specific vibrational spectroscopy.
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