UC Berkeley

That selected ions have an energetic preference to reside at the air-water interface, rather than in the bulk, is a relatively new development in our understanding of aqueous interfaces. While significant experimental and theoretical advances have been made in this field in recent years, the underlying physics, which existing models of ion solvation and ion partitioning are based upon, is still not completely understood. The benefits of a rich understanding of interfacial phenomena are many-fold, including enhancing our knowledge of atmospheric aerosol chemistry, accelerated reactions in “on-water” catalysis, and many biological interactions. The contents of this thesis describe efforts to deepen the detailed understanding of ion adsorption to air-water and water-hydrophobe interfaces through the use of nonlinear spectroscopy tools, which exclusively probe ions and water molecules at liquid interfaces.