Reconsideration of Second Harmonic Generation from neat Air/Water Interface: Broken of Kleinman Symmetry from Dipolar Contribution

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that the second harmonic generation (SHG) signal from the neat air/water interface can be explained solely by dipolar contributions, challenging previous assumptions of significant quadrupolar and bulk effects, and clarifies the origin of broken Kleinman symmetry.

Contribution

The study provides a microscopic analysis showing dipolar effects alone explain the SHG response, revising prior interpretations of quadrupolar contributions at the air/water interface.

Findings

Dipolar contributions suffice to explain SHG signals.

Broken Kleinman symmetry arises from dipolar effects, not quadrupolar or bulk.

Water molecule orientation at the interface aligns with SFG-VS measurements.

Abstract

It has been generally accepted that there are significant quadrupolar and bulk contributions to the second harmonic generation (SHG) reflected from the neat air/water interface, as well as common liquid interfaces. Because there has been no general methodology to determine the quadrupolar and bulk contributions to the SHG signal from a liquid interface, this conclusion was reached based on the following two experimental phenomena. Namely, the broken of the macroscopic Kleinman symmetry, and the significant temperature dependence of the SHG signal from the neat air/water interface. However, because sum frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy (SFG-VS) measurement of the neat air/water interface observed no apparent temperature dependence, the temperature dependence in the SHG measurement has been reexamined and proven to be an experimental artifact. Here we present a complete microscopic analysis of the susceptibility tensors of the air/water interface, and show that dipolar contribution alone can be used to address the issue of broken of the macroscopic Kleinman symmetry at the neat air/water interface. Using this analysis, the orientation of the water molecules at the interface can be obtained, and it is consistent with the measurement from SFG-VS. Therefore, the key rationales to conclude significantly quadrupolar and bulk contributions to the SHG signal of the neat air/water interface can no longer be considered as valid as before. This new understanding of the air/water interface can shed light on our understanding of the nonlinear optical responses from other molecular interfaces as well.