A novel set-up to investigate the low-frequency spectra of aqueous solutions at high hydrostatic pressure

L Knake; H Vondracek; M Havenith

doi:10.1063/1.4964099

A novel set-up to investigate the low-frequency spectra of aqueous solutions at high hydrostatic pressure

Rev Sci Instrum. 2016 Oct;87(10):104101. doi: 10.1063/1.4964099.

Authors

L Knake¹, H Vondracek¹, M Havenith¹

Affiliation

¹ Department of Physical Chemistry II, Ruhr-University Bochum, 44780 Bochum, Germany.

PMID: 27802710
DOI: 10.1063/1.4964099

Abstract

We present a novel setup to investigate the low frequency (THz/FIR) spectra of an aqueous solution under high hydrostatic pressure (HHP). By integration of a diamond anvil cell into a THz Fourier transform spectrometer, we are able to record the absorption of bulk water in the pressure range from 1 bar to 10 kbar. The difference in intensity can directly be compared to the difference in extinction coefficients. The spectroscopic data reveal a blue shift of the H-bond stretch vibration at 180 cm^-1, which is evidence of changes in the H-bond network dynamics.