Water in Heterogeneous Matter Interfacial Water-From Non-Organic to Organic Systems

Abstract

Water is the universal solvent of nature. Does this imply, however, that its interaction with its environment is also universal in its character? We present evidence that the broadening of the dielectric spectra of water presents universal features of dipolar interactions with different types of matrixes. The state of water adsorbed in heterogeneous materials is determined by various hydration centers of the inhomogeneous material (the matrix) and it is significantly different from the bulk. In both cases, the dielectric spectrum of water is symmetrical and can be described by the Cole-Cole (CC) function. The phenomenological model that describes a physical mechanism of the dipole-matrix interaction in complex systems underlying the CC behavior has been applied to water adsorbed in porous glasses clays and hydrated proteins.