Estimation of H 2 O Molecule Orientation Type in the Adsorbed Layer on a SiO 2 Aerogel Nanopore Surface

— A possibility of determining the orientation of H 2 O molecules adsorbed on the surface of SiO 2 aerogel nanopores is studied. The energy of interaction between a free H 2 O molecule and H 2 O molecules adsorbed on the surface of a nanopore is found from a quantum-chemical calculation for the cases of their chaotic and ordered orientations. Experimental data on the broadening of the vibrational–rotational absorption lines of H 2 O in aerogel nanopores are analyzed. They are shown to correspond to the model of orderly oriented H 2 O molecules on the nanopore surface.