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Title: Anomalously large isotope effect in the glass transition of water

Journal Article · · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [3];  [1];  [1];  [4];  [2];  [5];  [1];  [3];  [2]
  1. Dortmund Univ. of Technology (Germany). Dept. of Physics
  2. Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States). Joint Inst. for Neutron Sciences, Dept. of Chemistry; Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Chemical Science Division
  3. Univ. of Innsbruck, Innsbruck (Austria). Inst. of Physical Chemistry
  4. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Chemical and Engineering Materials Division
  5. Arizona State Univ., Tempe, AZ (United States). Dept. of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Here we present the discovery of an unusually large isotope effect in the structural relaxation and the glass transition temperature Tg of water. Dielectric relaxation spectroscopy of low-density as well as of vapor deposited amorphous water reveal Tg differences of 10±2K between H2O and D2O, sharply contrasting with other hydrogen bonded liquids for which H/D exchange increases Tg by typically less than 1K. We show that the large isotope effect and the unusual variation of relaxation times in water at low temperatures can be explained in terms of quantum effects. Thus, our findings shed new light on water's peculiar low-temperature dynamics and the possible role of quantum effects in its structural relaxation, and possibly in dynamics of other low molecular weight liquids.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); National Science Foundation (NSF)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725; CHE-1213444; CHE-1026124; BO1301
OSTI ID:
1286807
Journal Information:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 111, Issue 49; ISSN 0027-8424
Publisher:
National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC (United States)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 52 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (12)

Diffusive dynamics during the high-to-low density transition in amorphous ice text January 2017
Thermodynamic and kinetic isotope effects on the order–disorder transition of ice XIV to ice XII journal January 2018
Structural differences between unannealed and expanded high-density amorphous ice based on isotope substitution neutron diffraction journal August 2019
Crucial role of fragmented and isolated defects in persistent relaxation of deeply supercooled water journal September 2018
Identification of structural relaxation in the dielectric response of water text January 2016
Nature of Water’s Second Glass Transition Elucidated by Doping and Isotope Substitution Experiments journal January 2019
Origin of the emergent fragile-to-strong transition in supercooled water journal September 2018
Common microscopic structural origin for water’s thermodynamic and dynamic anomalies journal December 2018
Amorphous and crystalline ices studied by dielectric spectroscopy journal June 2019
Diffusive dynamics during the high-to-low density transition in amorphous ice journal June 2017
Nuclear quantum effects on the liquid–liquid phase transition of a water-like monatomic liquid journal January 2018
Water: A Tale of Two Liquids journal April 2016

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