Structure and properties of boundary layers of water

Conclusions In experiments performed by various methods and on different objects, it has been shown that the properties of water in boundary layers and in fine pores are substantially different from the bulk properties. These differences play an important role in various technological processes. For example, the stability of thin films of water often determines flotation conditions and the mass transfer in drying porous solids. The presence of boundary layers of water with changed properties increases the stability of a number of colloidal systems, and this must be taken into account in developing measures for water treatment to remove suspended matter. Finally, the special properties of boundary layers of water, in particular their lower dissolving power, are finding broad practical applications in the technology of reverse osmosis separation of solution and in water desalination.All of this creates a need for further research on the special properties of thin layers of water and aqueous solutions and a need for the development of the theory of boundary structures, with the aim of controlling the property of the boundary layers in the directions that are needed for practical purposes.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 8, pp. 1698–1710, August, 1982.