Federal Research Center Institute of Applied Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IAP RAS), Nizhny Novgorod 603950, Russia.
N. I. Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod (National Research University), Nizhny Novgorod 603950, Russia.
Int J Mol Sci. 2019 Mar 29;20(7):1582. doi: 10.3390/ijms20071582.
A new mechanism for the formation and destruction of giant water clusters (ten to hundreds of micrometers) is proposed. Our earlier hypothesis was that the clusters are associates of liquid-crystal spheres (LCS), each of which is formed around a seed particle, a microcrystal of sodium chloride. In this study, we show that the ingress of LCSs into water from the surrounding air is highly likely. We followed the evolution of giant clusters during the evaporation of water. When a certain threshold of the ionic strength of a solution is exceeded, the LCSs begin to "melt", passing into free water, and the salt crystals dissolve, ensuring re-growth of larger crystals as a precipitate on the substrate. A schematic diagram of the dynamics of phase transitions in water containing LCSs during evaporation is proposed. The results illustrate the salt dust cycle in nature.
提出了一种形成和破坏巨型水团簇（十到数百微米）的新机制。我们之前的假设是，这些团簇是液晶球（LCS）的缔合物，每个 LCS 都是围绕着一个种子颗粒——氯化钠微晶形成的。在这项研究中，我们表明 LCS 从周围空气中进入水是很有可能的。我们观察了水蒸发过程中巨型团簇的演化。当溶液的离子强度超过某个阈值时，LCS 开始“融化”，进入自由水，盐晶体溶解，确保作为沉淀物在基底上重新生长更大的晶体。提出了一个包含 LCS 的水在蒸发过程中相转变动力学的示意图。结果说明了自然界中的盐尘循环。
