Vibrational couplings and energy transfer pathways of water\u2019s bending mode

Chun-Chieh Yu,Takakazu Seki,Hiro-O Hamaguchi,Mischa Bonn,Vitaly Korepanov,Tatsuhiko Ohto,Masanari Okuno,Xiaoqing Yu,Johannes Hunger,Kuo-Yang Chiang,Yuki Nagata

doi:10.1038/s41467-020-19759-w

Abstract

Coupling between vibrational modes is essential for energy transfer and dissipation in condensed matter. For water, different O-H stretch modes are known to be very strongly coupled both within and between water molecules, leading to ultrafast dissipation and delocalization of vibrational energy. In contrast, the information on the vibrational coupling of the H-O-H bending mode of water is lacking, even though the bending mode is an essential intermediate for the energy relaxation pathway from the stretch mode to the heat bath. By combining static and femtosecond infrared, Raman, and hyper-Raman spectroscopies for isotopically diluted water with ab initio molecular dynamics simulations, we find the vibrational coupling of the bending mode differs significantly from the stretch mode: the intramode intermolecular coupling of the bending mode is very weak, in stark contrast to the stretch mode. Our results elucidate the vibrational energy transfer pathways of water. Specifically, the librational motion is essential for the vibrational energy relaxation and orientational dynamics of H-O-H bending mode.

Highlights

Coupling between vibrational modes is essential for energy transfer and dissipation in condensed matter
Many of the unique properties of water originate from the hydrogen bond (H-bond) network of water, which results from the strong intermolecular interactions between water molecules
In line with earlier reports[1,3,27], we find intermolecular vibrational energy relaxation to occur on a picosecond timescale

Summary

Introduction

Coupling between vibrational modes is essential for energy transfer and dissipation in condensed matter. The information on the vibrational coupling of the H-O-H bending mode of water is lacking, even though the bending mode is an essential intermediate for the energy relaxation pathway from the stretch mode to the heat bath. Within one molecule, coupling can occur between the stretch modes of the two O–H groups[8], and strong intermolecular coupling of stretch modes makes its excitation quasi-instantaneously delocalized across several molecules in liquid water. The impact of the bending modelibrational mode mixing (Fig. 1d) on the dynamics has not been identified, though recent studies imply the importance of the mode mixing beyond the normal mode description[15,16] This missing understanding of water’s bending mode vibrational dynamics precludes a unified view of vibrational energy exchange and relaxation of water vibrations. Randomization of the orientations for the H–O–H bending mode transition dipole moment occurs much faster, which is attributed to rotational contributions (e.g., librational mode) to the bending mode band

Methods

Results

Conclusion