Resolv Grad Fellow Matthew DiTucci in Williams Group publish in RSC Chemical Sciences

The effect of temperature on the patterning of water molecules located remotely from a single SO42− ion in aqueous nanodrops was investigated for nanodrops containing between 30 and 55 water molecules using instrument temperatures between 135 and 360 K. An SO42− dianion clearly affects the hydrogen bonding network of water to at least ∼0.71 nm at 135 K and ∼0.60 nm at 340 K, consistent with an entropic drive for reorientation of water molecules at the surface of warmer nanodrops. These distances represent remote interactions into at least a second solvation shell even with elevated instrumental temperatures. The results herein provide new insight into the extent to which ions can structurally perturb water molecules even at temperatures relevant to Earth’s atmosphere, where remote interactions may assist in nucleation and propagation of nascent aerosols.
Matthew J DiTucci, Christiane N Stachl, Evan R Williams
Chemical science 9 (16), 3970-3977 (2018)

Saykally Group: Second-harmonic generation with soft X-rays probes buried interfaces

In a proof-of-concept study, Richard J. Saykally and a large team of researchers working at the FERMI facility in Trieste, Italy, have demonstrated that the method can selectively probe layers of graphene inside a graphite sample (Phys. Rev. Lett. 2018, DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.120.023901). The new technique may eventually enable researchers to use X-rays to track chemical reactions at interfaces with femtosecond resolution.