The air-water interface serves as a useful model system to understand important environmentally relevant interfaces. Although it is now accepted that some inorganic ions can be present at the air-water interface, there is no consensus regarding the propensity water’s self-ions (namely OH- and H3O+) to this important interface. I will present our latest insights on the question of H3O+ and OH- using quantum density function theory. We will also examine ion-pairing between H3O+ and several anions as a function of interfacial depth. A complex picture emerges implicating both the role of the counter ion and the extreme solvation environment in the vicinity of the interface in our understanding of preferential adsorption of acids and bases to the air-water interface.

Propensity of acids and bases to the air-water interface: A consensus in the making

251st National Meeting (2016)

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