Structural study of water confined in porous glass by neutron scattering

Abstract

In order to study the structural properties of water at interfaces, we performed neutron scattering experiments of water confined inside interconnected pores of Vycor glass. The structure factors and the corresponding radial distribution functions of the confined water have been determined as a function of temperature from 35 °C down to −100 °C and for two levels of hydration of the glass (full and partial hydration). At 27 °C, the structure factor of confined water is very similar to that of bulk water. When decreasing the temperature, we show that it is possible to supercool water inside pores of Vycor but not to the extent expected for such a small confining space. In fact the presence of large hydrophilic silica interface enhances the nucleation of ice. The observed phase of ice is the cubic ice which appears at about −18 °C in the full hydrated Vycor. The other interesting observation is a greater degree of supercooling of water in partially hydrated samples of Vycor compared to fully hydrated ones. Moreover, the presence of a small amount of liquid water down to −40 °C is identified.