Effect of pH and monovalent cations on the Raman spectrum of water: Basics revisited and application to measure concentration gradients at water/solid interface in Si3N4 biomaterial

The effect of hydrogen carbonate (HCO3-) and cations (Na+, K+) solvated in water were revisited according to high spectrally resolved Raman measurements. Water solutions with different bicarbonate concentrations or added with increasing amounts of monovalent cations were examined with respect to their Raman spectra both in the bulk state and at the solid/liquid interface with a silicon nitride (Si3N4) bioceramic. Spectroscopic calibrations confirmed that the Raman emission from OH-stretching in water is sensitive to molarity variations (in the order of tens of mM). The concentration gradient developed at the solid/liquid interface in cation-added solutions interacting with a Si3N4 surface was measured and found to be peculiar to individual cations. Local variation in pH was detected in ionic solutions interacting with Si3N4 samples, which might represent a useful property for Si3N4 in a number of biomedical applications. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.