Department of Animal Life and Environmental Science, Hankyong National University, Anseong, Korea.
Center of Excellence in Wireless and Information Technology, Korea, Incheon, Korea.
PLoS One. 2018 Apr 18;13(4):e0195057. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0195057. eCollection 2018.
Earlier studies have reported the formation of an exclusion zone devoid of microspheres at the interface of water with a hydrophilic surface such as Nafion® or the hydrophilic ceramic powder. We now report the formation of a 'three-dimensional cell-like structured exclusion zone' in water prepared by two different methods. In the first, the hydrophilic powder was agitated with deionized water and allowed to rest (contact method). Subsequently, the 'powder-supernatant water' was collected and termed 'contact water'. In the second method, deionized water in a closed container was kept in the close vicinity of the hydrophilic powder for an extended time-period and it was termed 'non-contact water'. The two kinds of waters were tested by standard methods for various physical properties. In addition, we carried out cryogenic scanning-electron microscopy of frozen samples of the two kinds of water. The powder-supernatant water showed a cell-like heterogeneous ice structure with the high-density exclusion-zone water forming the walls of a cell-like structure. A similar cell-like ice structure was formed for water treated with the hydrophilic powder in a non-contact manner; the unit cell size depended on the 'degree of structure' in the water. When highly structured, the unit cell size was smaller with a concurrently enhanced dielectric constant and reduced redox potential. It was found that the electrical properties are more sensitive to the change in water structure compared to other physical properties such as surface tension, density, and specific heat. Based on our findings of an electric potential difference between the heterogeneous structured water and the ordinary water, we propose a new model to explain the relationship between heterogeneous, structured water and its electrical properties.
早期的研究报告指出，在亲水表面（如 Nafion®或亲水陶瓷粉末）与水的界面处会形成一个没有微球的隔离区。我们现在报告了通过两种不同方法在水中形成“三维类似细胞结构的隔离区”。在第一种方法中，将亲水粉末与去离子水搅拌并静置（接触法）。随后，收集“粉末-上层水”并将其称为“接触水”。在第二种方法中，将去离子水密封在容器中并使其靠近亲水粉末放置一段时间，将其称为“非接触水”。通过标准方法测试了这两种水的各种物理性质。此外，我们对这两种水的冷冻样本进行了低温扫描电子显微镜检查。粉末-上层水显示出具有细胞状异质冰结构的特征，高密度隔离区水形成了细胞状结构的壁。用非接触方式处理亲水粉末的水也形成了类似的细胞状冰结构；单元胞尺寸取决于水中的“结构程度”。当结构高度有序时，单元胞尺寸较小，介电常数同时增强，氧化还原电位降低。结果发现，与表面张力、密度和比热等其他物理性质相比，电性质对水结构变化更为敏感。基于我们在异质结构化水和普通水之间发现的电势差，我们提出了一个新的模型来解释异质结构化水与其电性质之间的关系。
