Dielectric permittivity of aqueous solutions of electrolytes probed by THz time-domain and FTIR spectroscopy

TL;DR

This study investigates the dielectric permittivity of pure water and electrolyte solutions using THz and FTIR spectroscopy, revealing two distinct water molecule populations and modeling their behavior with a dual Debye function.

Contribution

It introduces a model describing water's dielectric response as a combination of two populations, supported by spectroscopic data, advancing understanding of water's complex structure.

Findings

Dielectric behavior modeled with two Debye functions

Identification of two water molecule populations

Accurate prediction of high-frequency dielectric response

Abstract

In spite of a large number of papers published in the last twenty years in the literature, the basic model of liquid water is still controversial. We have measured the dielectric permittivity of pure water and aqueous chlorides solutions in the range 0.2 to 1.5 THz and we have found that the overall dielectric behavior can be satisfactorily described with the weighted average of two single time constant Debye functions. The weights of the two components have been obtained by infrared spectra analysis and are related to two populations of water molecules having a different long range organization. The resulting functions allow to fit the experimental data for pure water and solutions of LiCl, KCl, NaCl, and CsCl and to predict the excess response on the high frequency side of the relaxation without ad hoc corrective terms. These findings point to the evidence of two fluids in liquid water at normal temperature and pressure.