Premium
Water Mobility in the Interfacial Liquid Layer of Ice/Clay Nanocomposites
Author(s) -
Li Hailong,
Mars Julian,
Lohstroh Wiebke,
Koza Michael Marek,
Butt HansJürgen,
Mezger Markus
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.202013125
Subject(s) - premelting , vermiculite , melting point , materials science , freezing point , chemical engineering , supercooling , chemical physics , composite material , chemistry , thermodynamics , physics , engineering
At solid/ice interfaces, a premelting layer is formed at temperatures below the melting point of bulk water. However, the structural and dynamic properties within the premelting layer have been a topic of intense debate. Herein, we determined the translational diffusion coefficient D t of water in ice/clay nanocomposites serving as model systems for permafrost by quasi‐elastic neutron scattering. Below the bulk melting point, a rapid decrease of D t is found for charged hydrophilic vermiculite, uncharged hydrophilic kaolin, and more hydrophobic talc, reaching plateau values below −4 °C. At this temperature, D t in the premelting layer is reduced up to a factor of two compared to supercooled bulk water. Adjacent to charged vermiculite the lowest water mobility was observed, followed by kaolin and the more hydrophobic talc. Results are explained by the intermolecular water interactions with different clay surfaces and interfacial segregation of the low‐density liquid water (LDL) component.