Interplay of Ion-Water and Water-Water Interactions within the Hydration Shells of Nitrate and Carbonate Directly Probed with 2D IR Spectroscopy.

The long-range influence of ions in solution on the water hydrogen-bond (H-bond) network remains a topic of vigorous debate. Recent spectroscopic and theoretical studies have, for the most part, reached the consensus that weakly coordinating ions only affect water molecules in the first hydration shell. Here, we apply ultrafast broadband two-dimensional infrared (2D IR) spectroscopy to aqueous nitrate and carbonate in neat H2O to study the solvation structure and dynamics of ions on opposite ends of the Hofmeister series. By exciting both the water OH stretches and ion stretches and probing the associated cross-peaks between them, we are afforded a comprehensive view into the complex nature of ion hydration. We show in aqueous nitrate that weak ion-water H-bonding leads to water-water interactions in the ion solvation shells dominating the dynamics. In contrast, the carbonate CO stretches show significant mixing with the water OH stretches due to strong ion-water H-bonding such that the water and ion modes are intimately correlated. Further, the excitonic nature of vibrations in neat H2O, which spans multiple water molecules, is an important factor in describing ion hydration. We attribute these complex dynamics to the likely presence of intermediate-range effects influenced by waters beyond the first solvation shell.