Effects of stearyl alcohol monolayer on the structure, dynamics and vibrational sum frequency generation spectroscopy of interfacial water

The structure, dynamics and vibrational spectroscopy of a water surface covered by a monolayer of stearyl alcohol (STA) are investigated by means of molecular dynamics simulations and vibrational sum frequency generation (VSFG) spectral calculations. The STA molecules possess long linear alkyl chains without any branching and have a rather large hydrophobic surface area. The STA–water interface is found to be rather narrow with an ordered outward arrangement of the alcohol chains at the water surface. The water molecules in the interfacial region which contribute most to the observed VSFG spectrum are identified. It is shown that the observed red shift in the hydrogen bonded part of the VSFG spectrum can originate from partial cancellation of the spectral responses from up and down-oriented OH moieties of interfacial water which are hydrogen bonded, respectively, to alcohol and water molecules. The effects of intra and intermolecular coupling to the VSFG spectrum are also calculated for the STA–water interface considered here. On the dynamical side, a slowing down of the hydrogen bond and orientational relaxation is found for the interfacial water. It is found that the ordered arrangement of STA molecules at the surface holds the interfacial water molecules rather tightly and slows down the dynamics. The current results of the STA–water interface are also compared with those of the tertiary butyl alcohol (TBA)–water interface where the alcohol has a fully branched hydrophobic part of the lower surface area.