Ions in water: characterizing the forces that control chemical processes and biological structure.

The study of the interactions of salts and osmolytes with macromolecules in aqueous solution originated with experiments concerning protein precipitation more than 100 years ago. Today, these solutes are known to display recurring behavior for myriad biological and chemical processes. Such behavior depends both on the nature and concentration of the species in solution. Despite the generality of these effects, our understanding of the molecular-level details of ion and osmolyte specificity is still quite limited. Here, we review recent studies of the interactions between anions and urea with model macromolecular systems. A mechanism for specific ion effects is elucidated for aqueous systems containing charged and uncharged polymers, polypeptides, and proteins. The results clearly show that the effects of the anions are local and involve direct interactions with macromolecules and their first hydration shell. Also, a hydrogen-bonding mechanism is tested for the urea denaturation of proteins with some of these same systems. In that case, direct hydrogen bonding can be largely discounted as the key mechanism for urea stabilization of uncollapsed and/or unfolded structures.

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Chemistry of Hofmeister anions and osmolytes.

. A workshop was held in the framework of the ACCENT (Atmospheric Composition Change – a European Network) Joint Research Programme on "Aerosols" and the Programme on "Access to Laboratory Data". The aim of the workshop was to hold "Gordon Conference" type discussion covering accommodation and reactive uptake of water vapour and trace pollutant gases on condensed phase atmospheric materials. The scope was to review and define the current state of knowledge of accommodation coefficients for water vapour on water droplet and ice surfaces, and uptake of trace gas species on a variety of different surfaces characteristic of the atmospheric condensed phase particulate matter and cloud droplets. Twenty-six scientists participated in this meeting through presentations, discussions and the development of a consensus review. In this review we present an analysis of the state of knowledge on the thermal and mass accommodation coefficient for water vapour on aqueous droplets and ice and a survey of current state-of the-art of reactive uptake of trace gases on a range of liquid and solid atmospheric droplets and particles. The review recommends consistent definitions of the various parameters that are needed for quantitative representation of the range of gas/condensed surface kinetic processes important for the atmosphere and identifies topics that require additional research.

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An overview of current issues in the uptake of atmospheric trace gases by aerosols and clouds

Water autoionization reaction 2H2O --> H3O- + OH- is a textbook process of basic importance, resulting in pH = 7 for pure water. However, pH of pure water surface is shown to be significantly lower, the reduction being caused by proton stabilization at the surface. The evidence presented here includes ab initio and classical molecular dynamics simulations of water slabs with solvated H3O+ and OH- ions, density functional studies of (H2O)(48)H+ clusters, and spectroscopic isotopic-exchange data for D2O substitutional impurities at the surface and in the interior of ice nanocrystals. Because H3O+ does, but OH- does not, display preference for surface sites, the H2O surface is predicted to be acidic with pH < 4.8. For similar reasons, the strength of some weak acids, such as carbonic acid, is expected to increase at the surface. Enhanced surface acidity can have a significant impact on aqueous surface chemistry, e.g., in the atmosphere.

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Water surface is acidic.

Understanding the structure and dynamics of water's constituent ions, proton and hydroxide, has been a subject of numerous experimental and theoretical studies over the last century. Besides their obvious importance in acid-base chemistry, these ions play an important role in numerous applications ranging from enzyme catalysis to environmental chemistry. Despite a long history of research, many fundamental issues regarding their properties continue to be an active area of research. Here, we provide a review of the experimental and theoretical advances made in the last several decades in understanding the structure, dynamics, and transport of the proton and hydroxide ions in different aqueous environments, ranging from water clusters to the bulk liquid and its interfaces with hydrophobic surfaces. The propensity of these ions to accumulate at hydrophobic surfaces has been a subject of intense debate, and we highlight the open issues and challenges in this area. Biological applications reviewed include proton transport along the hydration layer of various membranes and through channel proteins, problems that are at the core of cellular bioenergetics.

Protons and Hydroxide Ions in Aqueous Systems

The ubiquitous nature of water makes the study of water both practical and relevant. Yet in this advanced technological age, many important, fundamental questions remain unanswered about water and the aqueous interface. As we learn more about water, more questions arise. The fact that water molecules strongly hydrogen bond to one another explains, at the most basic level, the inherently high boiling point of water. Moreover, the surface structure of water, directly related to the hydrogen bonding between water molecules, is unique. It is the nature of the hydrogen bond that makes understanding water and aqueous interfaces such a challenge: hydrogen bonding is dynamic and is a strong intermolecular force, yet it is considerably weaker than a covalent bond. Due to the experimental and theoretical challenges presented by the hydrogen bond, the scientific community is far from a full understanding of bulk and surface water. In this review, we focus on spectroscopic studies of surface water structure as it is affected by salts, acids, and ammonia. Cluster studies contribute to understanding the aqueous interface, and these are discussed along with studies of aqueous nanodrops.

Margaret Kuo

Papers

Vibrational Spectroscopic Studies of Aqueous Interfaces: Salts, Acids, Bases, and Nanodrops

Vibrational Spectroscopic Studies of Aqueous Interfaces: Salts, Acids, Bases, and Nanodrops