Ultrafast vibrational dynamics of the free OD at the air/water interface: Negligible isotopic dilution effect but large isotope substitution effect

Vibrational relaxation dynamics of the OH stretch of water at the air/water interface has been a subject of intensive research, facilitated by recent developments in ultrafast interface-selective nonlinear spectroscopy. However, a reliable determination of the vibrational relaxation dynamics in the OD stretch region at the air/D2O interface has not been yet achieved. Here, we report a study of the vibrational relaxation of the free OD carried out by time-resolved heterodyne-detected vibrational sum frequency generation spectroscopy. The results obtained with the aid of singular value decomposition analysis indicate that the vibrational relaxation (T-1) time of the free OD at the air/D2O interface and air/isotopically diluted water (HOD-H2O) interfaces show no detectable isotopic dilution effect within the experimental error, as in the case of the free OH in the OH stretch region. Thus, it is concluded that the relaxation of the excited free OH/OD predominantly proceeds with their reorientation, negating a major contribution of the intramolecular energy transfer. It is also shown that the T-1 time of the free OD is substantially longer than that of the free OH, further supporting the reorientation relaxation mechanism. The large difference in the T-1 time between the free OD and the free OH (factor of ~ 2) may indicate the nuclear quantum effect on the diffusive reorientation of the free OD/OH because this difference is significantly larger than the value expected for a classical rotational motion. Published under an exclusive license by AIP Publishing.

Automated summary

In this study, the vibrational relaxation dynamics of free OD molecules at the air/D2O interface were investigated using ultrafast spectroscopy. The results showed that the vibrational relaxation time of free OD molecules did not exhibit any isotopic dilution effect, similar to the behavior of free OH molecules. The relaxation of excited free OD molecules was found to predominantly occur through reorientation, rather than intramolecular energy transfer. The significantly longer relaxation time of free OD compared to free OH suggests the presence of a nuclear quantum effect on the diffusive reorientation of OD molecules. This study provides important insights into the vibrational relaxation behavior of water molecules at interfaces.