X-ray diffraction study of temperature dependent structure of liquid water

• We have developed x-ray diffraction measurements with high energy-resolution and accuracy to study water structure at three different temperatures (7, 25 and 66 °C) under normal pressure. Using a spherically curved Ge crystal an energy resolution better than 15 eV has been achieved which eliminates influence from Compton scattering. The high quality of the data allows a precise oxygen-oxygen pair correlation function (PCF) to be directly derived from the Fourier transform of the experimental data resolving shell structure out to ~12 Å, i.e. 5 hydration shells. Large-scale molecular dynamics (MD) simulations using the TIP4P/2005 force-field reproduce excellently the experimental shell structure in the range 4-12 Å although less agreement is seen for the first peak in the PCF. The Local Structure Index (LSI) [J. Chem. Phys. 104, 7671 (1996)] identifies a tetrahedral minority giving the long-range oscillations in the PCF and a disordered majority providing a more featureless background in this range. The current study supports the proposal that the structure of liquid water even under ambient conditions can be described in terms of a two-state fluctuation model involving local structures related to the high-density and low-density forms of liquid water as postulated in the liquid-liquid phase transition hypothesis.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Physics

Fysik

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)