Local structures of liquid water studied by x-ray emission spectroscopy

The O $K\alpha$ x-ray emission spectra of water clusters with different sizes and conformations embedded in a continuum medium are simulated. The calculations have successfully explained the experimental spectra of water in both gas and liquid phases. It is shown that the x-ray emission spectra are very sensitive to the local hydrogen bonding structures. Strong electron sharing between different water molecules is observed and its possible connection to the covalency of hydrogen bonding is discussed. The experimentally observed strong excitation energy dependence of the spectra has been interpreted in terms of the polarization and angular dependence for the gas phase, and in terms of variations of local hydrogen bonding structures for the liquid phase.