Silver nanoparticles behave as hydrophobic solutes towards the liquid water structure in the interaction shell. A Raman study in the O–H stretching region

Abstract

Weak interactions, never reported yet, between silver nanocolloids and water, have been studied by Raman spectroscopy in the O–H stretching region. Subtle interactions regarding the first hydration shell, and perturbing only at a short range the bulk liquid structure of the solvent have been revealed. The interface interactions cause the O–H stretching band of water in the interface layer spectrum to be shifted at higher wavenumbers with respect to the neat water Raman signals. Order/disorder ratio variations, with respect to the liquid spectrum of pure water, are reported.