Structure of neat and hydrated liquid nicotine and laser resonant desorption of clusters from nicotine–water solutions

The microscopic structures of neat liquid nicotine and nicotine–water mixtures are examined through infrared spectroscopy and laser resonant desorption mass-spectroscopy. The infrared spectra of the solutions are analyzed using DFT calculations of homogenous and mixed hydrogen-bonded clusters. Neat nicotine and hydrated nicotine cluster are experimentally observed through IR laser resonant desorption of a nicotine/water ice mixture followed by laser ionization mass-spectrometry. A sizable fraction of those cluster ions is the result of laser ionization of small neutral clusters already present in the sample.