Ion Solvation and Screening in Water

A depiction of two different states of solvated NaCl, with arrows connecting the physical configuration to its energetic region.

Salt solutions are ubiquitous in natural, scientific, and industrial settings. As such, it is important to thoroughly understand the dynamics and energetics of both the solvated ions and their effects on the solvating bulk fluid. Despite their prevalence, the effects of ions on the bulk, in particular water, is not completely understood. Spectroscopic have shown results that conflict with vibrational relaxation studies as to whether certain solute ions are chaotropic (structure-breaking) or cosmotropic (structure-making). A better understanding of the solvation process in explicit detail will give insight into why these discrepancies occur.