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Ice Recrystallization Inhibition and Molecular Recognition of Ice Faces by Poly(vinyl alcohol)
Author(s) -
Budke Carsten,
Koop Thomas
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
chemphyschem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.016
H-Index - 140
eISSN - 1439-7641
pISSN - 1439-4235
DOI - 10.1002/cphc.200600533
Subject(s) - recrystallization (geology) , vinyl alcohol , adsorption , ice crystals , crystallite , molecule , chemistry , crystal habit , hydrogen bond , ostwald ripening , crystallization , crystallography , chemical engineering , analytical chemistry (journal) , materials science , organic chemistry , nanotechnology , optics , geology , paleontology , physics , engineering , polymer
Abstract The effects of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) on the Ostwald ripening of polycrystalline ice samples are studied. At −6 °C, ice recrystallization in sucrose solutions is inhibited at PVA concentrations down to 0.005 mg mL −1 , with a recrystallization inhibition constant of 48.9 mL mg −1 . Ice growth‐habit experiments reveal molecular recognition of the arrangement of water molecules in the ice by PVA molecules, and indicate that PVA molecules adsorb to the primary and secondary prism faces of hexagonal ice, Ih. Based on these observations, together with an analysis of the O‐atom pattern in ice and the conformation of OH groups in PVA, an adsorption model is proposed. We suggest that PVA segments adsorb to the primary and secondary prism faces of ice parallel to the c axis with a linear misfit parameter of only 2.7 %, most likely via multiple hydrogen bonds. The proposed adsorption mechanism is discussed in the light of recent thermal hysteresis and scanning tunneling microscopy experiments.