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The Hydrophobic Gap at High Hydrostatic Pressures
Author(s) -
Wirkert Florian J.,
Hölzl Christoph,
Paulus Michael,
Salmen Paul,
Tolan Metin,
Horinek Dominik,
Nase Julia
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
angewandte chemie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1521-3757
pISSN - 0044-8249
DOI - 10.1002/ange.201706662
Subject(s) - hydrostatic pressure , chemical physics , molecular dynamics , surface pressure , hydrostatic equilibrium , chemistry , electron density , electron , materials science , chemical engineering , thermodynamics , computational chemistry , physics , quantum mechanics , mechanics , engineering
We have gained new insight into the so‐called hydrophobic gap, a molecularly thin region of decreased electron density at the interface between water and a solid hydrophobic surface, by X‐ray reflectivity experiments and molecular dynamics simulations at different hydrostatic pressures. Pressure variations show that the hydrophobic gap persists up to a pressure of 5 kbar. The electron depletion in the interfacial region strongly decreases with an increase in pressure, indicating that the interfacial region is compressed more strongly than bulk water. The decrease is most significant up to 2 kbar; beyond that, the pressure response of the depletion is less pronounced.