Principal investigators: Julien Duboisset
Nonlinear optics to probe molecular organization in liquids. Liquids are often regarded as isotropic media in which molecular orientations are randomly distributed. Using polarized harmonic scattering, however, we have demonstrated that it is possible to access the orientational organization of water molecules. Our results reveal that water molecules exhibit cooperative orientation over distances far exceeding previously assumed limits. The strong static dipole moment of the water molecule organizes the liquid over length scales of several tens of nanometers. Furthermore, we showed that the addition of trace amounts of salt (a few hundred micromolar) disrupts this structuring, leading instead to a radial organization of the molecules around the ions. Comparable behavior was also observed in other solvents possessing large dipole moments.
Publications
2025
F. Rondepierre, E. Salmon, C. Jonin, J. Duboisset, P.-F. Brevet
Polarization resolved second harmonic scattering of neat water in the right angle and forward scattering geometries
The Journal of Chemical Physics, 162 (3), 2025,
https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0243331
2020
J. Duboisset, P.-F. Brevet
Long-range orientational correlation of dipolar and steric liquids
The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 11, 9869-9875, (2020),
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpclett.0c02705
2019
J. Duboisset, P.-F. Brevet
Second-Harmonic Scattering-Defined Topological Classes for Nano-Objects
The Journal of Physical Chemistry C 123 (41), 25303-25308 (2019),
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.9b04810
2018
J. Duboisset, P.-F. Brevet
Salt-induced Long-to-Short Range Orientational Transition in Water
Physical Review Letters 120, 263001 (2018),
https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.263001
