Water structure and dynamics at a silica surface: Pake doublets in 1H NMR spectra

Detailed knowledge about the dynamics and structure of liquids in the vicinity of a solid surface is important in several fields of research. In this study a homogeneous model system of colloidal and nonporous silica particles with a narrow particle size distribution was used to examine such properties of adsorbed water and 1-heptanol. Doublet (1)H water resonances ("Pake doublets") indicate a preferred spatial orientation for the water molecules, as well as a lower molecular density in the surface-induced water structures compared to bulk water. These surface-induced structures are found to extend at least 8 nm from the silica surface. T(1) relaxation measurements at several temperatures indicate weaker H-bonding in the adsorbed water compared to bulk water. T(2) relaxation measurements at several temperatures reveal the presence of two water phases and give quantitative information on the mobility of water molecules and proton exchange processes. The presence of 1-heptanol changes the water characteristics, primarily in the water phase closer to the surface, where water molecules experience decreased translational and increased rotational freedom. In the absence of water, adsorbed 1-heptanol forms surface aggregates encompassing several molecular layers, where the first adsorbed layer shows severe restrictions in mobility and subsequent layers are more mobile.     

Inelastic incoherent neutron scattering studies of water interacting with biological macromolecules.

The interaction between water and biological macromolecules in living organisms is of fundamental importance in a range of processes. We have studied water-DNA and water-proteolipid membrane systems over a range of hydration states using inelastic incoherent neutron scattering. We find a relatively sharp transition for both systems at a water concentration above which bulk solvent can be detected. Below this concentration, bulk water is essentially absent, i.e., all the water in the system is interacting with the biological macromolecules. This water is strongly perturbed as judged by its energy transfer spectrum, with a broader and lower energy transition than bulk water in the 50-75 meV (approximately 400-600 cm(-1)) range. Taking into account the differing geometry of (cylindrical) DNA and (planar) membranes, the number of water shells perturbed by each system was estimated. A conclusion is that in living organisms a large proportion of the cellular water will be in a state quite distinct from bulk water. The data add to the growing evidence that water structure in the vicinity of biological macromolecules is unusual and that the proximal water behaves differently compared to the bulk solvent.     

Transient oxygen clathrate-like hydrate and water networks induced by magnetic fields

Recently, careful experiments of oxygen-dissolved pure water treated by high magnetic fields showed indirectly the existence of magnetic field-affecting water (MFA water), which brought about a decrease in the contact angle of water on metals, an increase in the electrolytic potential of water, inhibition of metal corrosion, and changes in the crystal structure of calcium carbonate due to magnetic treatment. Here we report the infrared and Raman spectroscopic evidence indicating quasi-stable structures in the MFA water; oxygen clathrate-like hydrate and developed water networks, which were induced by magnetic interactions while a vacuum-distilled water, followed by oxygen exposure, crossed a steady magnetic field. The mechanism of MFA water formation and survival under thermal fluctuation is a challenging problem for the science community.     

Do probe molecules influence water in confinement?

The water inside reverse micelles can differ dramatically from bulk water. Some changes in properties can be attributed to the interaction of water molecules with the micellar interface, forming a layer of shell water inside the reverse micelle. The work reported here monitors changes in intramicellar water through chemical shifts and signal line widths in 51V NMR spectra of a large polyoxometalate probe, decavanadate, and from infrared spectroscopy of isotopically labeled water, to obtain information on the water in the water pool in AOT reverse micelles formed in isooctane. The studies reveal several things about the reverse micellar water pool. First, in agreement with our previous measurements, the proton equilibrium of the decavanadate solubilized within the reverse micelles differs from that in bulk aqueous solution, indicating a more basic environment compared to the starting stock solutions from which the reverse micelles were formed. Below a certain size, reverse micelles do not form when the polyoxometalate is present; this indicates that the polyanionic probe requires a layer of water to solvate it in addition to the water that solvates the surfactant headgroups. Finally, the polyoxometalate probe appears to perturb the water hydrogen-bonding network in a fashion similar to that in the interior surface of the reverse micelles. These measurements demonstrate the dramatic differences possible for water environments in confined spaces.     

Radiowave dielectric investigation of water confined in channels of carbon nanotubes

Structure and dynamics of water confined in channels of diameter of few nanometer in size strongly differ from the ones of water in the bulk phase. Here, we present radiowave dielectric relaxation measurements on water-filled single-walled carbon nanotubes, with the aim of highlighting some aspects on the molecular electric dipole organization of water responding to high spatial confinement in a hydrophobic environment. The observed dielectric spectra, resulting into two contiguous relaxation processes, allow us to separate the confined water in the interior of the nanotubes from external water, providing support for the existence in the confinement region of water domains held together by hydrogen bonds. Our results, based on the deconvolution of the dielectric spectra due to the presence of a bulk and a confined water phase, furnish a significantly higher Kirkwood correlation factor, larger than the one of water in bulk phase, indicating a strong correlation between water molecules inside nanotubes, not seen in bulk water.     

Water adsorption, desorption, and clustering on FeO(111)

The adsorption of water on FeO(111) is investigated using temperature programmed desorption (TPD) and infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (IRAS). Well-ordered 2 ML thick FeO(111) films are grown epitaxially on a Pt(111) substrate. Water adsorbs molecularly on FeO(111) and desorbs with a well resolved monolayer peak. IRAS measurements as a function of coverage are performed for water deposited at 30 and 135 K. For all coverages (0.2 ML and greater), the adsorbed water exhibits significant hydrogen bonding. Differences in IRAS spectra for water adsorbed at 30 and 135 K are subtle but suggest that water adsorbed at 135 K is well ordered. Monolayer nitrogen TPD spectra from water covered FeO(111) surfaces are used to investigate the clustering of the water as a function of deposition or annealing temperature. Temperature dependent water overlayer structures result from differences in water diffusion rates on bare FeO(111) and on water adsorbed on FeO(111). Features in the nitrogen TPD spectra allow the monolayer wetting and 2-dimensional (2D) ordering of water on FeO(111) to be followed. Voids in a partially disordered first water layer exist for water deposited below 120 K and ordered 2D islands are found when depositing water above 120 K.     

Thermodynamics of water entry in hydrophobic channels of carbon nanotubes

Experiments and computer simulations demonstrate that water spontaneously fills the hydrophobic cavity of a carbon nanotube. To gain a quantitative thermodynamic understanding of this phenomenon, we use the recently developed two phase thermodynamics method to compute translational and rotational entropies of confined water molecules inside single-walled carbon nanotubes and show that the increase in energy of a water molecule inside the nanotube is compensated by the gain in its rotational entropy. The confined water is in equilibrium with the bulk water and the Helmholtz free energy per water molecule of confined water is the same as that in the bulk within the accuracy of the simulation results. A comparison of translational and rotational spectra of water molecules confined in carbon nanotubes with that of bulk water shows significant shifts in the positions of the spectral peaks that are directly related to the tube radius.     

Super Molecular-polarization Phenomenon of Poly (ethylene glycol) in Deionized Water

A new discovery describing nonionic surfactant poly(ethylene glycol) being added into deionized water, electrical conductivity of the water would show a remarkable increase phenomenon. The mechanism study indicated that the electrical conductivity increase of the water doped some PEG was formed by super-polarization of a PEG molecule on the water molecule. A PEG molecule can form a super polarization body in the water, which will generate a strong polarization effect on the water molecule, thereby increasing water ionization degree and makes the electrical conductivity of water greater.     

三维壳聚糖材料中水的状态与其性能的关系

利用原位沉析法制备了具有层状结构的高强度三维壳聚糖(chitosan,CS)材料,由于CS分子结构中存在大量的亲水基团,容易吸附水分子.通过热分析(TGA,DSC)测试发现吸水后的CS材料中的水分是以3种不同的状态存在,结合水、中间态水和自由水.结合力学性能的方法分析不同状态的水对材料性能的影响.结果表明,结合水和CS以氢键紧密结合,有较好的热稳定性,对材料的力学性能有增强作用;CS棒材在环境中吸附的中间态水相当于一种增塑剂,随着水含量的增加,材料力学性能的下降符合Fermi经验公式;中间态水达到饱和之后,自由水开始出现,自由水和CS之间的作用力很弱,温度较低时会结晶成冰.自由水的渗透与中间态水比对材料的力学性能没有明显的影响.     

Peculiar properties of water as solute

Water has been investigated for a long time as the most important solvent; the peculiar behavior of water as solute has been studied in binary mixtures with organic solvents, mainly exploring the whole phase diagram. In this Article, we studied the behavior of water in binary mixtures with propylene carbonate in the phase diagram region where water acts as a solute as a function of the water molar fraction X(water). Surface tension measurements, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) have been used to investigate the state of water molecules and hydrogen bonds when water is to be considered a solute instead of a solvent, and peculiar and interesting properties were discovered. The interaction of water molecules among themselves and between water and propylene carbonate has been shown to be dependent on the water concentration in the mixtures. All of the measured properties showed a break at X(water) approximately 0.15-0.20 similar to the break due to the critical micellar concentration in surfactant solutions. In particular, from the FTIR spectra, it was possible to deduce that at this concentration water has a transition from pure solute ("multimers" solvated by PC) to cosolvent ("intermediate" and "network" water).     

新乡市饮用水中氟化物含量的测定分析

对新乡市不同水质中氟化物含量进行了测定分析 ,结果表明 ,地层水和管网水中氟含量适中 ,山泉水和矿泉水中氟含量偏低 ,纯净水和矿物质水中未检出氟化物。并对氟与人体健康的关系进行了讨论 ,认为饮用水中应有适量的氟化物     

Study of the formation of the porous structure of membranes during phase separation of a poly(ester sulfone) solution

The mechanism of the phase separation of a poly(ester sulfone) solution induced by water vapor and further immersion in water is studied via the methods of electron microscopy and porometry. The effect of the one-side treatment of the solution resting on a support with water on the porous structure of the formed membrane is investigated. Exposure to water vapor sufficient for penetration across the entire thickness leads to formation of a membrane with a gradient porous structure and a selective layer at the side contacting water vapor. With an increase in the rate of water sorption in the interval from 70 to 550 g/(m² h), the average pore size in the selective layer decrease from 170 to 70 nm. When a solution is treated with water vapor not through the entire thickness, a selective layer is formed inside the membrane. In this case, when the duration of treatment with water vapor decreases, the internal selective layer is shifted toward the side contacting water vapor. During instantaneous immersion in water, the selective layer is formed at the side contacting water and its pores are 20–30 nm in size.     

A molecular dynamics study of a nafion polyelectrolyte membrane and the aqueous phase structure for proton transport

A molecular dynamics simulation study of hydrated Nafion at water contents ranging from 5 to 20 wt % was performed to examine the structure and dynamics of the hydrated polyelectrolyte system. The simulations show that the system forms segregated hydrophobic regions consisting primarily of the polymer backbone and hydrophilic regions with an inhomogeneous water distribution. We find that the water clustering strongly depends on the water content. At low water content, only isolated small water clusters are formed. As the water content increases, it becomes increasingly possible that a predominant majority of water molecules form a single cluster, suggesting that the hydrophilic regions become connected. We characterize the atomic structures formed within the system by various atomic pair correlation functions. The water structure factor shows a peak at q values corresponding to an intercluster distance about 2.5 nm and greater. With increasing water content, the distance moves to larger values, consistent with findings from scattering experiments. We find that the degree of solvation of hydronium ions by water molecules is a strong function of water content. At 5 wt %, a majority of the hydronium ions are hydrated by no more than two water molecules, prohibiting structural diffusion. As water content increases, the hydronium ions continue to become increasingly hydrated, resulting in structures capable of forming eigen ions, a necessary step in structural diffusion. Addressing the experimentally observed fact that conductivity in these membranes abruptly drops near 5 wt %, we find that both the local structure of the poorly hydrated hydronium ions and the disconnected nature of the global morphology of the water nanonetwork at low water content should contribute to poor conductivity.     

How Does a Membrane Protein Achieve a Vectorial Proton Transfer Via Water Molecules?

We present a detailed mechanism for the proton transfer from a protein‐bound protonated water cluster to the bulk water directed by protein side chains in the membrane protein bacteriorhodopsin. We use a combined approach of time‐resolved Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, molecular dynamics simulations, and X‐ray structure analysis to elucidate the functional role of a hydrogen bond between Ser193 and Glu204. These two residues seal the internal protonated water cluster from the bulk water and the protein surface. During the photocycle of bacteriorhodopsin, a transient protonation of Glu204 leads to a breaking of this hydrogen bond. This breaking opens the gate to the extracellular bulk water, leading to a subsequent proton release from the protonated water cluster. We show in detail how the protein achieves vectorial proton transfer via protonated water clusters in contrast to random proton transfer in liquid water.     

IR Spectroscopic Study of the State of Water in Dioxane and Acetonitrile: Relationship with the Thermodynamic Activity of Water at 278-318 K

The absorption spectra of water in dioxane and acetonitrile were measured at 25°C by Fourier IR spectroscopy while varying the thermodynamic activity of water in organic media from 0 to 1. The state of water in organic solvents is defined in terms of variations in the integrated intensities of water and the contour shape of the band of OH stretching vibrations. The fraction of associated water molecules is estimated in terms of water activity in organic media. In both dioxane and acetonitrile, the water molecules can exist either as associated (H-bonded) molecules or as single molecules complexed with organic molecules, which depends on the thermodynamic activity of the water molecule. In both solvents, a transition between these states of water occurs within a relatively narrow range of activity, but the transition point differs between the solvents. The factors leading to the different distributions of the associated forms of water are discussed in relation to the thermodynamic activity of water in organic media.     

Origin of the Hydrophobic Behaviour of Hydrophilic CeO2

The nature of the hydrophobicity found in rare-earth oxides is intriguing. The CeO₂ (100) surface, despite its strongly hydrophilic nature, exhibits hydrophobic behaviour when immersed in water. In order to understand this puzzling and counter-intuitive effect we performed a detailed analysis of the confined water structure and dynamics. We report here an ab-initio molecular dynamics simulation (AIMD) study which demonstrates that the first adsorbed water layer, in immediate contact with the hydroxylated CeO₂ surface, generates a hydrophobic interface with respect to the rest of the liquid water. The hydrophobicity is manifested in several ways: a considerable diffusion enhancement of the confined liquid water as compared with bulk water at the same thermodynamic condition, a weak adhesion energy and few H-bonds above the hydrophobic water layer, which may also sustain a water droplet. These findings introduce a new concept in water/rare-earth oxide interfaces: hydrophobicity mediated by specific water patterns on a hydrophilic surface.     

Three distinct water structures at a zwitterionic lipid/water interface revealed by heterodyne-detected vibrational sum frequency generation

Lipid/water interfaces and associated interfacial water are vital for various biochemical reactions, but the molecular-level understanding of their property is very limited. We investigated the water structure at a zwitterionic lipid, phosphatidylcholine, monolayer/water interface using heterodyne-detected vibrational sum frequency generation spectroscopy. Isotopically diluted water was utilized in the experiments to minimize the effect of intra/intermolecular couplings. It was found that the OH stretch band in the Imχ((2)) spectrum of the phosphatidylcholine/water interface exhibits a characteristic double-peaked feature. To interpret this peculiar spectrum of the zwitterionic lipid/water interface, Imχ((2)) spectra of a zwitterionic surfactant/water interface and mixed lipid/water interfaces were measured. The Imχ((2)) spectrum of the zwitterionic surfactant/water interface clearly shows both positive and negative bands in the OH stretch region, revealing that multiple water structures exist at the interface. At the mixed lipid/water interfaces, while gradually varying the fraction of the anionic and cationic lipids, we observed a drastic change in the Imχ((2)) spectra in which spectral features similar to those of the anionic, zwitterionic, and cationic lipid/water interfaces appeared successively. These observations demonstrate that, when the positive and negative charges coexist at the interface, the H-down-oriented water structure and H-up-oriented water structure appear in the vicinity of the respective charged sites. In addition, it was found that a positive Imχ((2)) appears around 3600 cm(-1) for all the monolayer interfaces examined, indicating weakly interacting water species existing in the hydrophobic region of the monolayer at the interface. On the basis of these results, we concluded that the characteristic Imχ((2)) spectrum of the zwitterionic lipid/water interface arises from three different types of water existing at the interface: (1) the water associated with the negatively charged phosphate, which is strongly H-bonded and has a net H-up orientation, (2) the water around the positively charged choline, which forms weaker H-bonds and has a net H-down orientation, and (3) the water weakly interacting with the hydrophobic region of the lipid, which has a net H-up orientation.     

Solute retention and the states of water in polyethylene glycol and poly(vinyl alcohol) gels

The states of water sorbed in a cross-linked polyethylene glycol (PEG) gel, TSKgel Ether-250, and cross-linked poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) gels of different pore sizes, TSKgel Toyopearl HW-40S, 50S, 55S and 75S, were investigated by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). It was found that there were three types of water in these hydrogels, non-freezing water, freezable bound water and free water. The amount of water that functions as the stationary phase in the column packed with the each gel was also estimated by a liquid chromatographic method. The estimated amount of the stationary phase water is in good agreement with the sum of the amount of non-freezing water and that of freezable bound water for HW-40S, 50S and 55S, while it agrees with the amount of only non-freezing water for HW-75S and Ether-250. This means that the stationary phase water consists of non-freezing water and freezable bound water for HW-40S, 50S and 55S, while only non-freezing water functions as the stationary phase in HW-75S and Ether-250 gels. This result can be attributed to the difference in the structure of the gels; the PVA gels containing PVA at relatively high concentrations, HW-40S, 50S and 55S, have a homogeneous gel phase, whereas HW-75S and Ether-250 have a heterogeneous gel phase consisting hydrated polymer domains and macropores with relatively hydrophobic surface. The freezable bound water in Toyopearl HW-40S, 50S and 55S can be regarded as a component of a homogeneous PVA solution phase, while that in HW-75S and Ether-250 may be water isolated in small pores of the hydrophobic domains. The results obtained by the investigation on the retention selectivity of these hydrogels in aqueous solutions supported our postulated view on the structures of the hydrogels.     

Tracking water's response to structural changes in Nafion membranes

As the water content of Nafion membranes increases, the local environments of water molecules change due to reorganization of the pendant side chains in the hydrophilic domains. Changes in local structure as a function of water content are studied by measuring the IR spectra and the vibrational lifetimes of the hydroxyl stretch of dilute HOD in H(2)O. The main features of the IR spectra are fit well by a weighted sum of the spectra of bulk water and almost dry Nafion, suggesting a two-environment model. An additional small peak on the high frequency side of the main band associated with non-hydrogen-bonded water embedded in the polymer near the interface is analyzed quantitatively as a function of the membrane water content. The spectra of this peak show that a significant reorganization of the interfacial region occurs when the water content of the membrane exceeds the threshold for ion conduction. Vibrational excited state population relaxation times (lifetimes) of the main band lengthen substantially as the water content of the membrane is decreased. The population decays are not single exponentials and indicate that multiple ensembles of water molecules exist, and the characteristics of the individual ensembles change with water content. This is in contrast to the spectra of the main water absorption band, which is only sensitive to two classes of water molecules.