Unaffected microscopic dynamics of macroscopically arrested water in dilute clay gels

Abstract

Adequate clay minerals considerably affect the macroscopic mechanical behavior of water even at concentrations of a few percent. Thus when 2 wt. % laponite clay mineral nanoparticles are added to water, the resulting colloidal suspension after some time takes on the semisolid characteristics of a jellylike material at room temperature. Cold neutron time-of-flight spectroscopy data are in agreement with the assumption that notwithstanding this macroscopic change, the mobility of the water molecules on intermolecular and intramolecular length scales remains largely unaffected. This observation is discussed in the context of the properties and the role of water in different more or less dilute ionic environments. The result contributes to the ongoing debate of the properties and role of water in living cells.