PNNL

Abstract

Carboxylic acid is a common ligand anchoring group to functionalize nanoparticle surfaces. Its binding structures and mechanisms as a function of the oxidation states of metal oxide nanoparticle surfaces are not well characterized experimentally. We present an in situ sum frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy (SFG-VS) study on the binding of deuterated acetic acid on ceria nanoparticles in the aqueous solution. In the SFG experiment, ceria nanoparticles were deposited on the flat surface of a CaF2 hemisphere in contact with acetic acid solutions. While the ceria nanoparticle deprotonated the acetic acid, the CaF2 surface could not. Thus, the binding of the deprotonated acetic acid on ceria can be selectively probed. SFG spectra revealed that the binding modes of the carboxylate group depend on the oxidation states of the ceria surfaces. SFG polarization analysis suggested that the bidentate chelating and bridging binding modes co-exist on the reduced ceria surfaces, while the oxidized ceria surfaces are dominated by the bidentate bridging mode. The direct spectroscopic evidence helps to clarify the binding structures and mechanisms on the ceria nanoparticles. Furthermore, the middle-infrared (IR) transparent CaF2 and its chemical inertness make CaF2 and similar substrate materials good candidates for direct SFG-VS measurement of nanoparticle surface reactions and binding chem-istry.