Physics

Pathology

Electron

Organic chemistry

Reactivity (psychology)

Magnetization

Magnetic field

Computational chemistry

Physical chemistry

Chemical physics

Intermolecular force

Aqueous solution

Chemistry

Materials science

Alternative medicine

Polarization (electrochemistry)

Solvent

Molecule

Molecular physics

Quantum mechanics

Intramolecular force

Electric field

Medicine

Polarization density

Nature Communications

Reaction rates of common organic reactions have been reported to increase by one to six orders of magnitude in aqueous microdroplets compared to bulk solution, but the reasons for the rate acceleration are poorly understood. Using a coarse-grained electron model that describes structural organization and electron densities for water droplets without the expense of ab initio methods, we investigate the electric field distributions at the air-water interface to understand the origin of surface reactivity. We find that electric field alignments along free O–H bonds at the surface are ~16 MV/cm larger on average than that found for O–H bonds in the interior of the water droplet. Furthermore, electric field distributions can be an order of magnitude larger than the average due to non-linear coupling of intramolecular solvent polarization with intermolecular solvent modes which may contribute to even greater surface reactivity for weakening or breaking chemical bonds at the droplet surface.

Can electric fields drive chemistry for an aqueous microdroplet?