Search

A systematic comparison between the vibrational spectra in the CD and CH stretching regions of four deuterated and perprotonated surfactants adsorbed at the liquid/vapor interface has been carried out using vibrational sum frequency spectroscopy (VSFS). Bulk IR and polarized Raman spectra of hexane and its deuterated analogue have also been obtained for reference. Due to differences in the Fermi resonances, the relative positions and intensities of the spectral features, including conformational order indicators vary between the CD and CH regions. The commonly used sum frequency (SF) order indicator for perprotonated molecules, which involves the amplitude ratio of the symmetric CH3r+/ symmetric CH2d+bands is not directly transposable to the CD region. Instead, the ratio between the asymmetric CH3r–/ antisymmetric CD2d–bands is proposed as a more suitable alternative. Using as a starting point the SF spectra from the upright all-transmonolayer of dodecanol and its deuterated analogue, the theoretically modeling of the terminal methyl group orientation has been critically evaluated. The orientational analysis in the CD region gives significantly more reliable and consistent results, mainly because of the relative simplicity in unambiguously resolving the concerned peaks in the SF spectra.

The oxidation of octadecanethiol (ODT, CH3(CH2)17SH)-covered copper in dry air has been studied by in situ vibrational sum frequency spectroscopy (VSFS), infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (IRAS), and cathodic reduction (CR). During the first 10 h of exposure, the VSF spectral line shape in the CH stretching region changed significantly, with resonances observed as dips being transformed into peaks. This was attributed to a phase change in the nonresonant sum frequency signal due to the formation of a thin layer of copper(I) oxide beneath the ODT. Complementary cathodic reduction and infrared reflection/absorption spectroscopy studies yielded a thickness of the oxide layer of <2 nm after 19 h exposure. An orientation analysis on the adsorbed molecules by VSFS indicated a decreased tilt angle of the terminating methyl groups with respect to the surface normal during the formation of the oxide layer.

The ZnO/Zn surface exposed to formic acid undergoes a partial, reversible dissociation to formate ion, and a protonated surface oxide and is seen to have different hydration states depending on the relative humidity. Under high relative humidity conditions it exists as a formate coordinated to the surface with the oxygen atoms toward the surface and the C−H directed away into the vapor. In a dry environment a formic acid/formate intermediate is formed, although a substantial amount of dissociated species still are present, in both hydrated and nonhydrated form. The results may have implications on the initial atmospheric corrosion of Zn and emphasize that the ZnO/Zn surface is heterogeneous with a range of acid and basic sites for the adsorption of formate and the proton.

Vibrational sum frequency spectroscopy (VSFS) and ab initio density functional theory (DFT) calculations of formic acid on ZnO/Zn have been performed in order to understand the first step of atmospheric corrosion on zinc initiated by formic acid. In addition, infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (IRAS) has been employed to complement the surface sensitive VSFS results to identify the corrosion products. Oxidized polycrystalline zinc samples were exposed to 120 ppb formic acid in either humid or dry air where, the formic acid adsorption on ZnO/Zn is observed to have a low dependence on the humidity, as deduced by VSFS. Formate is formed on the surface in both dry and humid air and stabilized in configuration after about 90 min exposure in 120 ppb formic acid as seen in the VSFS results. This is evidenced by the occurrence of the CH and symmetric COO−vibrations of the formate ion. The DFT calculations support the VSFS results, showing a coordination of the formate to zinc ions without participation from water molecules.

Octadecanethiol (ODT) adsorbed onto zinc has been studied with sum frequency generation (SFG), sum frequency generation imaging microscopy (SFG-IM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), cyclic voltammetry (CV), and electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in order to investigate its corrosion protective ability and conformational ordering. SFG shows that ODT forms an ordered adsorbate on both reduced and oxidized zinc within short times after immersion in 1 mM ODT/ethanol solution. The corrosion protection, deduced by EIS, is also improved after immersion in the ODT solution. After longer immersion times, the corrosion protection decreases as well as the conformational order of the adsorbed ODT. Increasing the ODT concentration avoids this degradation with prolonged immersion time. The ODT is seen in the XPS spectra to adsorb to the reduced as well as the oxidized zinc by forming a Zn−S bond for both short and long immersion times. The SFG-IM completes the picture, showing a heterogeneous surface with areas corresponding to ordered ODT as well as disordered or uncovered regions. The density of adsorbed ODT after 24 h immersion time for both reduced and oxidized zinc was deduced from CV and was found to be approximately 6.7 × 10-9mol/cm2.