Dry salt and wet ice?

COLL 380

George E. Ewing, Department of Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Indiana University, 800 East Kirkwood Avenue, Bloomington, IN 47405
Even under arid conditions salt is not dry and ice, many degrees below its melting temperature, exhibits a liquid-like layer of water on its surface. These ubiquitous nanoscale thin films can be conveniently studied with infrared spectroscopy to reveal their thicknesses, thermodynamic properties and hydrogen bonding networks. Recent measurements from our laboratory on thin films of water on salt, ice, and other materials will be described and interpreted.