Abstract
Unusual physical characteristics of water can be easier explained and understood if properties of water clusters are revealed. Experimental investigation of water clusters has been reported by highly specialized equipment and/or harsh experimental conditions and has not determined the properties and the formation processes. In the current work, we used standard 1H-NMR as a versatile and facile tool to quantitatively investigate water clusters in the liquid phase under ambient conditions. This approach allows collection of data regarding the formation, long lifetime, stability, and physical properties of water clusters, as a cubic octamer in the liquid phase.
Highlights
The unusual physical characteristics of water, such as its high boiling/freezing point, the abnormal temperature dependency of its density, and ice nucleation for freezing, can be easier explained and understood if water exists as clusters rather than isotropic molecules
The samples exhibit an additional NMR signal assigned to water protons with strong hydrogen bonding (“water clusters”) separate from the signals of water dissolved in the hydrophobic solvent (“dissolved water”) and water aggregates (“bulk water”)[15,21]
We found that there was only one type of water clusters to be generated in hydrophobic solvents
Summary
The unusual physical characteristics of water, such as its high boiling/freezing point, the abnormal temperature dependency of its density, and ice nucleation for freezing, can be easier explained and understood if water exists as clusters rather than isotropic molecules. We describe experimental characterization of water clusters by standard NMR spectroscopy under ambient conditions in hydrophobic solvents (benzene is a typical example). The typical 1H-NMR spectra before and after warming are shown in Fig. 1a,b, respectively, where the proton signals are assigned to bulk water and dissolved water.
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