Liquid water diffusion at molecular level

ScienceDaily (Feb. 24, 2012) — Researchers at the universities of Granada and Barcelona have described for the first time the diffusion of liquid water through nanochannels in molecular terms; nanochannels are extremely tiny channels with a diameter of 1-100 nanometers that scientists use to study the behavior of molecules (nm. a unit of length in the metric system equal to one billionth of a meter that is used in the field of nanotechnology).

This study might have an important impact on water desalinization and filtration methods. Two articles published in Science state that the introduction of graphene membranes and carbon nanolayers will revolutionize water desalinization and filtration processes, as water diffuses rapidly through these materials when their pores are 1nm in diameter.

Liquid water exhibits a range of unusual properties that other chemical compounds do not have: up to 65 abnormalities. Some of these abnormalities have been known for 300 years, such as the fact that water expands below 4oC.

Many of the abnormalities found in water have a dynamic nature -- e.g. water molecules move faster as density increases -- as a result of the properties of the hydrogen bond networks that form between water molecules; hydrogen bonds lead to the formation of tetrahedral structures wherein a central atom is located at the center with four molecules located at the corners. However, this geometrical structure changes with pressure and temperature and, until now, changes in the molecular structure and properties of liquid water had not been described.

A Mystery to Solve

Particularly confusing are the results on the diffusion of water confined between two hydrophobic plates. Neither experiments nor computer-based models have clarified whether confinement increases or reduces the mobility of water molecules. However, it seems that the mobility of water molecules relies on ducts having a diameter above or below 1nm.

In a study published in the journal Physical Review, professors Francisco de los Santos Fernández (University of Granada) and Giancarlo Franzese (University of Barcelona) described the behavior of water confined between two hydrophobic plates. In their study, Franzese and Fernandez used models to demonstrate that the diffusion of nanoconfined water is unusually fast, as a result of the competition between the formation and breaking of hydrogen bonds, and the free volume available for cooperative molecule rearrangement.

In nanochannels above 1 nm in diameter, macroscopic diffusion of water only occurs if there is a cooperative rearrangement of molecules, which leads to HB breaking within a cooperative region of 1nm in size. On the other hand, diffusion increases in nanochannels below 1 nm, as fewer HBs need to be broken. Thus, this study proves that the interplay between hydrogen bond breaking and cooperative rearranging within regions of 1-nm determine the macroscopic properties of water.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Granada, via AlphaGalileo.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

Journal Reference:

Francisco de los Santos, Giancarlo Franzese. Relations between the diffusion anomaly and cooperative rearranging regions in a hydrophobically nanoconfined water monolayer. Physical Review E, 2012; 85 (1) DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevE.85.010602

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Deep below the Deepwater Horizon oil spill: New molecular model better explains diffusion of spill under water

 For the first time, scientists gathered oil and gas directly as it escaped from a deep ocean wellhead -- that of the damaged Deepwater Horizon oil rig. What they found allows a better understanding of how pollution is partitioned and transported in the depths of the Gulf of Mexico and permits superior estimation of the environmental impact of escaping oil, allowing for a more precise evaluation of previously estimated repercussions on seafloor life in the future.

The explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig in April 2010 was both a human and an environmental catastrophe. Getting the spill under control was an enormous challenge. The main problem was the depth of the well, nearly 1,500 meters below the sea surface. It was a configuration that had never been tried before, and the pollution it unleashed after methane gas shot to the surface and ignited in a fiery explosion is also unequalled. Much research has been done since the spill on the effects on marine life at the ocean's surface and in coastal regions. Now, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) professor Samuel Arey and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute reveal in the advance online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences how escaped crude oil and gas behave in the deep water environment.

Into the deep

In June 2010, with the help of a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), Woods Hole scientists reached the base of the rig and gathered samples directly from the wellhead using a robotic arm. The oceanographers also made more than 200 other measurements at various water depths over a 30-kilometer area. These samples were then analyzed with the help of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the dissolution of hydrocarbons was modeled at EPFL. This model showed how the properties of hydrocarbons are important in understanding the wellhead structure and pollution diffusion -- how pollution spreads out -- in the depths.

From the ROV to the lab

Lab analysis led the scientists to describe for the first time the physical basis for the deep sea trajectories of light-weight, water-soluble hydrocarbons such as methane, benzene, and naphthalene released from the base of the rig. The researchers observed, for example, that at a little more than 1,000 meters below the surface, a large plume spread out from the original gusher, moving horizontally in a southwest direction with prevailing currents. Unlike a surface spill, from which these volatile compounds evaporate into the atmosphere, in the deep water under pressure, light hydrocarbon components predominantly dissolve or form hydrates, compounds containing water molecules. And depending on its properties, the resulting complex mixture can rise, sink, or even remain suspended in the water, and possibly go on to cause damage to seafloor life far from the original spill.

By comparing the oil and gas escaping from the well with the mixture at the surface, EPFL's Samuel Arey, head of Environmental Chemistry Modeling Laboratory, and colleagues were able to show that the composition of the deep sea plumes could be explained by significant dissolution of light hydrocarbons at 1 kilometer depth. In other words, an important part of the oil spreads out in underwater plumes, so we need a more precise evaluation of previously estimated repercussions on seafloor life in the future. Arey's methodology offers a better estimation of how pollution travels and the potential deep sea consequences of spills.

"Modeling the environmental fate of hydrocarbons in deep water ecosystems required a new approach, with a global view, in order to correctly understand the impact of the pollution," explains Arey. This research will have a significant impact on assessments of the environmental impact of deep water oil spills.

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations) from materials provided by Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Journal Reference:

Christopher M. Reddy, J. Samuel Arey, Jeffrey S. Seewald, Sean P. Sylva, Karin L. Lemkau, Robert K. Nelson, Catherine A. Carmichael, Cameron P. McIntyre, Judith Fenwick, G. Todd Ventura, Benjamin A. S. Van Mooy, Richard Camilli. Science Applications in the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Special Feature: Composition and fate of gas and oil released to the water column during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2011; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1101242108