The structure and dynamics of the water/vapor interface is revisited by means of path-integral and second-generation Car-Parrinello ab initio molecular dynamics simulations in conjunction with an instantaneous surface definition [Willard, A. P.; Chandler, D. J. Phys. Chem. B 2010, 114, 1954]. In agreement with previous studies, we find that one of the OH bonds of the water molecules in the topmost layer is pointing out of the water into the vapor phase, while the orientation of the underlying layer is reversed. Therebetween, an additional water layer is detected, where the molecules are aligned parallel to the instantaneous water surface.

Energy dissipation in water is very fast and more efficient than in many other liquids. This behavior is commonly attributed to the intermolecular interactions associated with hydrogen bonds. Here, we investigate the dynamic energy flow in the hydrogen-bond network of liquid water by a pump-probe experiment. We resonantly excite intermolecular degrees of freedom with ultrashort single-cycle terahertz pulses and monitor its Raman response. By using ultrathin sample-cell windows, a background-free bipolar signal whose tail relaxes mono-exponentially is obtained. The relaxation is attributed to the molecular translational motions, using complementary experiments and force-field and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations. They reveal an initial coupling of the terahertz electric field to the molecular rotational degrees of freedom whose energy is rapidly transferred, within the excitation pulse duration, to the restricted-translational motion of neighboring molecules. This rapid energy transfer may be rationalized by the strong anharmonicity of the intermolecular interactions.Water is a major substance on the earth surface. Its diverse anomalous properties make life on our planet viable. Notably, its large heat capacity turns oceans and seas into giant heat reservoirs for regulating the earth climate. In living organisms, the same property makes water a superb thermal buffer for the function of bio-chemical reactions 1,2,3 . These thermodynamic peculiarities are commonly attributed to water's ability to form an intermolecular complex network which is based on thermally fluctuating hydrogen (H) bonds. Interestingly, as each water molecule forms on average close to four H-bonds with ~1ps lifetime in an almost tetrahedral configuration, 4,5,6 the three-dimensional network of H-bonded water molecules encompasses complex collective/cooperative intermolecular degrees of freedom with a very diverse dynamics 7 .

Dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP), a technique that significantly enhances NMR signals, is experiencing a renaissance owing to enormous methodological developments. In the heart of DNP is a polarization transfer mechanism that endows nuclei with much larger electronic spin polarization. Polarization transfer via the Overhauser effect (OE) is traditionally known to be operative only in liquids and conducting solids. Very recently, surprisingly strong OE-DNP in insulating solids has been reported, with a DNP efficiency that increases with the magnetic field strength. Here we offer an explanation for these perplexing observations using a combination of molecular dynamics and spin dynamics simulations. Our approach elucidates the underlying molecular stochastic motion, provides cross-relaxation rates, explains the observed sign of the NMR enhancement, and estimates the role of nuclear spin diffusion. The presented theoretical description opens the door for rational design of novel polarizing agents for OE-DNP in insulating solids.

The concept of covalency is widely used to describe the nature of intermolecular bonds, to explain their spectroscopic features and to rationalize their chemical behaviour. Unfortunately, the degree of covalency of an intermolecular bond cannot be directly measured in an experiment. Here we established a simple quantitative relationship between the calculated covalency of hydrogen bonds in liquid water and the anisotropy of the proton magnetic shielding tensor that can be measured experimentally. This relationship enabled us to quantify the degree of covalency of hydrogen bonds in liquid water using the experimentally measured anisotropy. We estimated that the amount of electron density transferred between molecules is on the order of 10  m while the stabilization energy due to this charge transfer is ∼15 kJ mol−1. The physical insight into the fundamental nature of hydrogen bonding provided in this work will facilitate new studies of intermolecular bonding in a variety of molecular systems.

We present an accelerated ab initio path-integral molecular dynamics technique, where the interatomic forces are calculated "on-the-fly" by accurate coupled cluster electronic structure calculations. In this way not only dynamic electron correlation, but also the harmonic and anharmonic zero-point energy, as well as tunneling effects are explicitly taken into account. This method thus allows for very precise finite temperature quantum molecular dynamics simulations. The predictive power of this novel approach is illustrated on the example of the protonated water dimer, where the impact of nuclear quantum effects on its structure and the (1)H magnetic shielding tensor are discussed in detail.