# Comment on "Orientational Distribution of Free O-H Groups of Interfacial   Water is Exponential"

**Authors:** Wei Gan, Ran-ran Feng, and Hong-Fei Wang

arXiv: 1904.08560 · 2019-09-04

## TL;DR

This paper critically examines a recent study claiming an exponential orientational distribution of free O-H groups at the water interface, arguing that its data interpretation is flawed and contradicts established literature.

## Contribution

It provides a critical analysis challenging the original interpretation of SFG-VS data regarding interfacial water orientation.

## Key findings

- Original conclusions are based on questionable data interpretation.
- Contradicts established literature on water interfacial structure.
- Highlights the need for careful data analysis in SFG-VS studies.

## Abstract

In a recent letter (PRL,121,246101,2018), Sun et al. reported that combined MD simulation and sum frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy (SFG-VS) measurements led to conclusions of a broad and exponentially decaying orientational distribution, and the presence of the free O-H group pointing down to the bulk at the air/water interface. In this comment, we show that their main conclusions are based on questionable interpretation of the SFG-VS data presented in the letter [1], and are also contrary to the established data analysis and interpretations in the literature [2-5].

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/1904.08560