Structure of interfacial water on fluorapatite (100) surface

The structure relaxation mechanism of the fluorapatite (100) surface under completely hydrated ambient conditions has been investigated with the grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD) technique. Detailed information on lateral as well as perpendicular ordering corresponding to the water molecules and atomic relaxations of the (100) surface of fluorapatite (FAp) crystal was obtained from the experimental analysis of the CTR intensities. Two laterally ordered water layers are present at the water/mineral interface. The first layer consists of four water molecules located at 1.6(1) A above the relaxed fluorapatite (100) surface while the second shows the presence of only two water molecules at a distance of 3.18(10) A from the mineral surface. Thus, the first layer water molecules complete the truncated coordination sites of the topmost surface Ca atoms, while the second water layer molecules remain bonded by means of H-bonding to the first layer molecules and the surface phosphate groups. Molecular mechanics simulations using force field techniques are in good agreement with this general structural behavior determined from the experiment.     

Deprotonation of solvated formic acid: Car-Parrinello and metadynamics simulations

The deprotonation of solvated formic acid was investigated theoretically with ab initio simulations. With the Car-Parrinello method, deprotonation and reprotonation by means of a proton wire were observed. The microscopics of these reactions were analyzed, and reveal the key role played by nearby water molecules in catalyzing the reactions. A constrained molecular dynamics calculation was carried out to estimate the dissociation free energy. Deprotonation of formic acid was further investigated with the recently developed metadynamics method using the formic acid oxygen coordination numbers as the collective variables. The determined free-energy landscape gives barriers similar to that obtained with the constrained free-energy calculation.     

The effect of lipid oxidation on the water permeability of phospholipids bilayers

The effect of lipid oxidation on water permeability of phosphatidylcholine membranes was investigated by means of both scattering stopped flow experiments and atomistic molecular dynamics simulations. Formation of water pores followed by a significant enhancement of water permeability was observed. The molecules of oxidized phospholipids facilitate pore formation and subsequently stabilize water in the membrane interior. A wide range of oxidation ratios, from 15 to 100 mol%, was considered. The degree of oxidation was found to strongly influence the time needed for the opening of a pore. In simulations, the oxidation ratio of 75 mol% was found to be a threshold for spontaneous pore formation in the tens of nanosecond timescale, whereas 15 mol% of oxidation led to significant water permeation in the timescale of seconds. Once a pore was formed, the water permeability was found to be virtually independent of the oxidation ratio.     

Hydrogen Bonding between Metal‐Ion Complexes and Noncoordinated Water: Electrostatic Potentials and Interaction Energies

The hydrogen bonding of noncoordinated water molecules to each other and to water molecules that are coordinated to metal‐ion complexes has been investigated by means of a search of the Cambridge Structural Database (CSD) and through quantum chemical calculations. Tetrahedral and octahedral complexes that were both charged and neutral were studied. A general conclusion is that hydrogen bonds between noncoordinated water and coordinated water are much stronger than those between noncoordinated waters, whereas hydrogen bonds of water molecule in tetrahedral complexes are stronger than in octahedral complexes. We examined the possibility of correlating the computed interaction energies with the most positive electrostatic potentials on the interacting hydrogen atoms prior to interaction and obtained very good correlation. This study illustrates the fact that electrostatic potentials computed for ground‐state molecules, prior to interaction, can provide considerable insight into the interactions.     

一个具有三明治结构的包合物: 8-羟基喹啉-β-环糊精包合物的晶体结构

合成了 8-羟基喹啉与β-环糊精的包合物, 通过X射线单晶衍射研究了它的晶体结构. 结果显示其不对称单元包含2个β-环糊精、1个8-羟基喹啉, 2个乙醇和30个水分子. 其中两个β-环糊精分子通过仲羟基间氢键以头对头的方式形成二聚体, 客体8-羟基喹啉被包合在此二聚体的中间区域, 分子平面与环糊精的大环平面平行, 形成了一个具有三明治夹心结构的包合物. 两个环糊精空腔各包合一个乙醇分子, 30个水分子分散在β-环糊精二聚体之间. 研究表明, β-环糊精二聚体的三明治区域是疏水的, 对于某些大小合适且具有平面构型的客体分子, 如8-羟基喹啉, 此三明治区域比β-环糊精空腔具有更强的包合能力, 这种新颖的包合方式是乙醇与8-羟基喹啉竞争包合的结果.     

The solvent trapping or co-adsorbing effect during the self-assembly monolayer studied by surface-enhanced Raman scattering

The possibility of solvent molecules being trapped within the monolayer interior during the self-assembly of 2,5-dimercapto-1,3,4-thiadiazole (DMTD) molecules from alcoholic solution, or co-adsorbing together with the solute molecules onto the silver surface was verified by means of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). Variations of the relative intensity of the solvent bands to the concentrations of the solution were investigated. To a certain range of the concentration, the smaller the concentration is, the larger the relative intensity of the solvent bands is. A new method for obtaining the SERS spectra of the organic compounds that are insoluble in water was developed in our laboratory, which also provides further evidence for the solvent trapping or co-adsorbing effect.     

Photoregulated binding ability of azoaromatic polymer for surfactant

Water-soluble polymeric azodyes containing an azobenzene moiety in their side chain, p-phenylazoacrylanilide (PAAn)–acrylamide (AAm) copolymers, were synthesized and the adsorption-desorption behavior of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) onto these copolymers in water was investigated by means of conductivity measurements, with attention to the hydrophobicity of the copolymer. The conductivity of the PAAn-AAm copolymer/SDS complex aqueous solution decreased with increasing PAAn composition in the copolymer. This result indicates that the SDS molecules adsorbed onto the copolymer. The adsorption state of SDS molecules on the copolymer was considered to take a micellelike form. When the hydrophobicity of the PAAn-AAm copolymer was decreased by means of the photoisomerization of an azodye moiety, the conductivity of the PAAn-AAm copolymer/SDS aqueous solution increased. This phenomenon can be explained as a result of desorption of SDS molecules from the copolymer. When the light source was cut off, the conductivity took on its original value. This indicated that SDS was desorbed by the photochemical trans to cis and adsorbed by cis to trans isomerization of the PAAn moiety.     

ADSORPTION OF LATERALLY INTERACTING 1-NAPHTHOL/1-NAPHTHYL-AMINE MIXTURES ON NONPOLAR SURFACES FROM AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS

The binary adsorption behavior of 1-naphthol/1-naphthylamine mixtures in water on nonpolar adsorbent Amberlite XAD4 was investigated at 293 K,303 K and 313 K,respectively.The experimental uptakes of 1-naphthol and l-naphthylamine in all binary-component systems of different molar ratios were obviously higher than the corresponding uptakes predicted by the extended Langmuir model,assuming no interaction between the adsorbed molecules of the two components.This phenomenon was attributed to the cooperative adsorption effect arising from the hydrogen bonding interaction between l-naphthol and l-napbthylamine molecules.A modified extended Langmuir model was proposed to describe the binary adsorption behavior by means of introducing a fitting parameter related with the cooperative adsorption effect of the adsorbates.     

Liquid-vapor interfacial properties of water-ammonia mixtures: dependence on ammonia concentration

The equilibrium and dynamical properties of the liquid-vapor interfaces of water-ammonia mixtures are investigated by means of molecular-dynamics simulations. Altogether, we have simulated seven different systems of different concentration of ammonia. The inhomogeneous density, anisotropic orientational profiles, surface tension, and the pattern of hydrogen bonding are calculated for both water and ammonia molecules in order to characterize the location, width, thermodynamic aspects, and microscopic structure of the liquid-vapor interfaces of each of the water-ammonia systems. The dynamical aspects of the interfaces are investigated in terms of the anisotropic diffusion and dipole orientational relaxation of water and ammonia molecules. The properties of the interfaces are compared with those of the corresponding bulk phases. The present theoretical results are also compared with experimental findings wherever available.     

疏水性微孔中水的结构和扩散性质的分子模拟

用分子动力学（MD）方法模拟了受限在疏水性微孔中的水的结构与动力学行为.分别考察了孔径、温度和压力对水在孔道方向的密度分布和自扩散系数的影响,计算了不同温度下水的径向分布函数.发现在小孔径的微孔中,随着温度的降低,水分子沿孔道的分布逐渐变得不均匀,最终导致气-液相分离,微孔孔道内有明显的分段现象.受限在小孔径微孔中水的自扩散系数大约为体相流体水的20％～30％,并且随着孔径的减小,自扩散系数也减小.同时还发现沿孔道方向的自扩散系数分量大约为孔径方向的4～5倍.提出了微孔中水自扩散系数的关联模型.     

Thermische und spektroskopische Untersuchungen zur Wassersorption an Alkalihalogeniden

Investigations on the extension of the diffuse reflectance spectroscopy by means of the dilution method of KORTÜM show the decisive influence of water sorption on the dilution substances, particularly on their absolute reflectance. Water sorption is investigated on alkali halides (NaCl and LiF) as dilution substances by gravimetric, thermal desorption and reflectance methods. Sorption gravimetry gives data on the quantities of adsorbed substances and the time function of adsorption processes, thermal desorption on chemical binding of adsorbed molecules and reflectance spektroscopy on the molar absorptivity of adsorbed water molecules.     

Association of methanol and water in ionic liquids elucidated by infrared spectroscopy using two-dimensional correlation and multivariate curve resolution

Water and methanol associations in ionic liquids (ILs) have been studied by means of FTIR spectroscopy. Spectra at different concentrations of water or methanol in ILs were obtained by means of on-line dilution using a flow injection analysis system. Spectral features in the OH stretching region revealed that most of the water and methanol molecules tended to be isolated from each other and to interact with the anion of the IL via H bonding. By means of two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy, the formation of methanol and water dimers was also detected. Multivariate curve resolution was used to recover pure spectra and concentration profiles of the different species. Methanol dimers form at concentrations higher than 0.8% (w/w) in the three studied ILs, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (emimBF4), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (bmimBF4), and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate (bmimPF6). Self-association of water molecules takes place in emimBF4 and bmimBF4 at a molar ratio similar to that of methanol molecules; however, water dimers cannot be detected in bmimPF6, the most hydrophobic IL studied. No evidence was found that bigger water clusters are formed in these ILs at the studied cosolvent concentrations.     

Electron hydration dynamics in water clusters: A direct ab initio molecular dynamics approach

Electron attachment dynamics of excess electron in water cluster (H2O)n (n = 2 and 3) have been investigated by means of full-dimensional direct ab initio molecular dynamics (MD) method at the MP26-311++G(d,p) level. It was found that the hydrogen bond breaking due to the excess electron is an important process in the first stage of electron capture in water trimer. Time scale of electron localization and hydrogen bond breaking were determined by the direct ab initio MD simulation. The initial process of hydration in water cluster is clearly visualized in the present study. In n = 3, an excess electron is first trapped around the cyclic water trimer with a triangular form, where the excess electron is equivalently distributed on the three water molecules at time zero. After 50 fs, the excess electron is concentrated into two water molecules, while the potential energy of the system decreases by -1.5 kcal/mol from the vertical point. After 100 fs, the excess electron is localized in one of the water molecules and the potential energy decreases by -5.3 kcal/mol, but the triangular form still remained. After that, one of the hydrogen bonds in the triangular form is gradually broken by the excess electron, while the structure becomes linear at 100-300 fs after electron capture. The time scale of hydrogen bond breaking due to the excess electron is calculated to be about 300 fs. Finally, a dipole bound state is formed by the linear form of three water molecules. In the case of n = 2, the dipole bound anion is formed directly. The mechanism of electron hydration dynamics was discussed on the basis of theoretical results.     

以荷电化碳纳米管构筑正渗透膜用于海水淡化的分子动力学模拟

受传统膜科学中分离膜的荷电化可提升膜盐水分离效能的启发,在前期工作基础上尝试以荷电化碳纳米管CNT(8,8)为水通道仿生构筑正渗透膜,利用分子动力学模拟的方法研究水分子在膜中的传递行为.模拟中,以0.5mo·lL-1氯化钠溶液模拟海水,1mo·lL-1的氯化镁溶液为汲取液,考察不同电量电荷修饰对碳纳米管正渗透膜中水分子密度分布、扩散系数以及水通量的影响.结果显示,电荷修饰对碳纳米管中水分子的密度分布和扩散速率以及水通量影响较显著,当碳纳米管管口荷电量为-0.3e时,碳纳米管膜可获得最大水通量.     

Preparation and characterization of an ordered 1-dodecanethiol monolayer on bare Si(111) surface

We have grown 1-dodecandthiol (DDT) monolayer on a bare Si(111) surface through ultraviolet-assisted photochemical reaction. The resulting monolayer was investigated by means of water contact angle measurement, synchrotron radiation-based high-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and polarization-dependent near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy. These combined probes for characterization reveal a hydrophobic ambient surface; the DDT was directly attached to Si through a Si-S bond, and the molecules formed an ordered monolayer with an average tilt angle of 57° of the alkyl chains relative to the substrate surface.     

Theoretical and experimental study on a self-assembling polysaccharide forming nanochannels: static and dynamic effects induced by a soft confinement

It is well-known that the polysaccharide scleroglucan (Sclg) exhibits a triple-helix conformation (triplex) and it is able to form hydrogels in water solution. Furthermore, these hydrogels are influenced by the presence of borax, in terms of rheological and drug release properties. In previous works, we showed that the presence of borax stabilizes the intertriplex interactions and that the property variations, induced by borax, can be fully explained, considering that the Sclg triplexes can form nanochannel-like structures. In this paper, the stability of these aggregates has been experimentally studied by means of atomic force microscopy (AFM) and theoretically investigated by means of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The simulations indicate that the borax stabilizes nanochannel-like structures when seven triplexes are considered. The simultaneous presence of different Sclg triplexes in a narrow space strongly influences the properties of confined water molecules in a way similar, in many aspects, to that of water molecules located in the inner part of well-defined nanochannels (e.g., diffusion inside carbon nanotubes). As a consequence, also the conformational properties of flanking regions of Sclg triplexes are influenced. Furthermore, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) data show that the well-known conformational transition occurring at 280 K for Sclg does not take place in the presence of borax. The MD simulations suggest that such lack of transition is a direct consequence of the presence of borax. The role of Na+ counterions in the hydrogel structure is also investigated.     

The effects of hydrogen-bonding environment on the polarization and electronic properties of water molecules

Adequate representation of the interactions that take place between water molecules has long been a goal of force field design. A full understanding of how the molecular charge distribution of water is altered by adjacent water molecules and by the hydrogen-bonding environment is a vital step toward achieving this task. For this purpose we generated ab initio electron densities of pure water clusters and hydrated serine and tyrosine. Quantum chemical topology enabled the study of a well-defined water molecule inside these clusters, by means of its volume, energy, and multipole moments. Intra- and intermolecular charge transfer was monitored and related to the polarization of water in hydrogen-bonded networks. Our analysis affords a way to define different types of water molecules in clusters.     

Characterization and Wettability of ZnO Film Prepared by Chemical Etching Method

ZnO thin films were prepared by a chemical etching method and their wettability was investigated. The structure and surface composition structure were characterized by means of scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectronic spectrometry(XPS), X-ray diffraction(XRD) and Raman spectrometry. These analyses reveal that the etched films were large-scale micro-nanohierarchical structures composed of a Zn core and a ZnO coating. Superhydrophobic surfaces with water contact angles of over 150o were obtained by n-octadecanethiol(ODT) modification. The XPS and Raman results indicate that ODT molecules were bound to the ZnO surface with the S head group by forming Zn-S bond.     

Water’s surface tension and cavity thermodynamics

The relationship between cavity thermodynamics in water and air-water surface tension is investigated in the present study. The effective hard sphere diameter of water molecules over a large temperature range is estimated from the experimental air-water surface tension, and cavity thermodynamics is calculated by means of classic scaled particle theory. The work of cavity creation proves to be a decreasing function of temperature and the cavity entropy change is a positive, practically constant, quantity, regardless of the cavity diameter, in marked contrast with well established theoretical and computer simulation results. This finding suggests that the relationship between cavity thermodynamics and surface tension is not a simple matter in the case of water.     

Dehydration investigations of a refractory concrete using DTA method

The base mix refractory concrete is corundum-based, containing corundum as refractory aggregate and CAC as hydraulic binder, with a spinel as an additive. The authors investigated the dehydration reactions which occur from the moment when water is added (at the beginning of components mixing), to the moment when installed refractory concrete lining is put into the service. Sintering process kinetic of low-cement content refractory concrete was investigated by means of differential thermal analysis at four different heating rates (5, 10, 20, and 30?°C/min). Thus, temperature was increased from 20 to 1100?°C. It was noticed that first dehydration step occurs at lower temperatures, indicating at a desorption of physically adsorbed and interlayer water molecules. Second dehydration step, at higher temperatures is due to dehydroxylation of the lattices and decomposition of the interlayer anions.