Fast Rotational Diffusion of Water Molecules in a 2D Hydrogen Bond Network at Cryogenic Temperatures
- National Inst. of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, MD (United States). Center for Neutron Research
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Neutron Scattering Division
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences and Computational Sciences and Engineering Division
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Chemical Sciences Division
Individual water molecules or small clusters of water molecules contained within microporous minerals present an extreme case of confinement where the local structure of hydrogen bond networks are dramatically altered from bulk water. In the zinc silicate hemimorphite, the water molecules form a two-dimensional hydrogen bond network with hydroxyl groups in the crystal framework. Here in this paper, we present a combined experimental and theoretical study of the structure and dynamics of water molecules within this network. The water molecules undergo a continuous phase transition in their orientational configuration analogous to a two-dimensional Ising model. The incoherent dynamic structure factor reveals two thermally activated relaxation processes, one on a subpicosecond timescale and another on a 10–100 ps timescale, between 70 and 130 K. The slow process is an in-plane reorientation of the water molecule involving the breaking of hydrogen bonds with a framework that, despite the low temperatures involved, is analogous to rotational diffusion of water molecules in the bulk liquid. The fast process is a localized motion of the water molecule with no apparent analogs among known bulk or confined phases of water.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC05-00OR22725; AC02-05CH11231
- OSTI ID:
- 1436948
- Alternate ID(s):
- OSTI ID: 1436541
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review Letters, Vol. 120, Issue 19; ISSN 0031-9007
- Publisher:
- American Physical Society (APS)Copyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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