Effects of salts of the Hofmeister series on the hydrogen bond network of water

The effect of salts on water behavior has been a topic of interest for many years; however, some recent reports have suggested that ions do not influence the hydrogen bonding behavior of water. Using an effective two-state hydrogen bonding model to interpret the temperature excursion infrared response of the O-H stretch of aqueous salt solutions, we show a strong correlation between salt effects on water hydrogen bonding and the Hofmeister order. These data clearly show that salts do have a measurable impact on the equilibrium hydrogen bonding behavior of water and support models which explain Hofmeister effects on the basis of solute charge density. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.