Water in Inhomogeneous Nanoconfinement: Coexistence of Multilayered Liquid and Transition to Ice Nanoribbons

Hu Qiu*, Xiao Cheng Zeng, Wanlin Guo

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Journal Publications and ReviewsRGC 21 - Publication in refereed journalpeer-review

52 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Phase behavior and the associated phase transition of water within inhomogeneous nanoconfinement are investigated using molecular dynamics simulations. The nanoconfinement is constructed by a flat bottom plate and a convex top plate. At 300 K, the confined water can be viewed as a coexistence of monolayer, bilayer, and trilayer liquid domains to accommodate the inhomogeneous confinement. With increasing liquid density, the confined water with uneven layers transforms separately into two-dimensional ice crystals with unchanged layer number and rhombic in-plane symmetry for oxygen atoms. The monolayer water undergoes the transition first into a puckered ice nanoribbon, and the bilayer water transforms into a rhombic ice nanoribbon next, followed by the transition of trilayer water into a trilayer ice nanoribbon. The sequential localized liquid-to-solid transition within the inhomogeneous confinement can also be achieved by gradually decreasing the temperature at low liquid densities. These findings of phase behaviors of water under the inhomogeneous nanoconfinement not only extend the phase diagram of confined water but also have implications for realistic nanofluidic systems and microporous materials.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)9877-9884
JournalACS Nano
Volume9
Issue number10
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 8 Sept 2015
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publication details (e.g. title, author(s), publication statuses and dates) are captured on an “AS IS” and “AS AVAILABLE” basis at the time of record harvesting from the data source. Suggestions for further amendments or supplementary information can be sent to [email protected].

Research Keywords

  • ice nanoribbon
  • inhomogeneous nanoconfinement
  • molecular dynamics
  • phase behavior

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Water in Inhomogeneous Nanoconfinement: Coexistence of Multilayered Liquid and Transition to Ice Nanoribbons'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this