Scientists at the University of Cambridge have found that water in a one-molecule layer behaves like neither a liquid nor a solid.
Bulk water has a high boiling point and expands when it is frozen. Water's properties change greatly when it is compressed.
The researchers have discovered several new phases of water by using a new way to predict this behavior.
Water can be found in everything from the inside of a body to the outside of a structure. The water we drink is very similar to the water we are drinking.
It has been difficult to understand the phases of water on the small scale. In a paper published in the journal Nature, the Cambridge-led team describe how they have been able to predict the phase diagram of a one-molecule thick layer of water with unprecedented accuracy.
A single layer of water was investigated using a combination of computational approaches.
The researchers found that water which is confined into a one-molecule thick layer goes through several phases. The water is not a solid nor a liquid, but something in between. In the superionic phase, the water becomes highlyconductive, propelling protons quickly through ice in a way similar to a conductor.
Understanding the behavior of water is important to new technologies. The success of medical treatments depends on how the water in our bodies reacts. Predicting how confined water will behave is a key factor in the development of electrolytes for batteries and water desalination.
Understanding the behavior of water is the main question for all of these areas. Our approach allows the study of a single layer of water.
The researchers found that there was a thick layer of water within the channel. Their approach predicts several phases, one of which is the superionic phase, in which the water has a high electrical conductivity.
The hexatic phase is an intermediate which agrees with previous theories about two-dimensional materials. This phase can be seen by confining water in a channel made of Graphene.
Extreme conditions like the core of Uranus and Neptune are where the superionic phase is found. One way to see this phase is to see the oxygen atoms forming a lattice and the protons flowing through it.
The researchers think that the superionic phase could be important for the future of battery materials as it shows a higher electrical conductivity than current materials.
The results suggest that "nanoconfinement" could be a new way to find superionic behavior of other materials.
More information: Angelos Michaelides, The first-principles phase diagram of monolayer nanoconfined water, Nature (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05036-x. www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05036-x Journal information: Nature
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