Anomalously low dielectric constant of confined water

Fumagalli, Laura; Esfandiar, Ali; Fabregas, Rene; Hu, Sheng; Ares, Pablo; Janardanan, Amritha; Yang, Qiong; Radha, Boya; Taniguchi, Takashi; Watanabe, Kenji; Gomila, Gabriel; Novoselov, Kostya S.; Geǐm, A. K.

doi:10.1126/science.aat4191

Cited by 764 publications

(996 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…(D)] . Related to this, a recent study showed that in a sub‐nanometer space the dielectric constant of water becomes smaller than 2 along the direction of narrowing; however, the resultant dielectric constant is likely to be anisotropic, and thus this observation is not in conflict with our arguments. In the presence of a crevice and thus of focused E Ψ , a charged group captured inside the creviced protein will sense a powerful electrostatic force, which, due to reduced thickness of the insulating medium ( d < < 3 nm), can become significantly stronger than the 5‐pN value estimated from a uniform E Ψ .…”

Section: Two‐state Rigid‐body Motion Is a Common Way To Utilize Electsupporting

confidence: 59%

Interplay between the electrostatic membrane potential and conformational changes in membrane proteins

Zhang

2019

Protein Science

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Transmembrane electrostatic membrane potential is a major energy source of the cell. Importantly, it determines the structure as well as function of charge‐carrying membrane proteins. Here, we discuss the relationship between membrane potential and membrane proteins, in particular whether the conformation of these proteins is integrally connected to the membrane potential. Together, these concepts provide a framework for rationalizing the types of conformational changes that have been observed in membrane proteins and for better understanding the electrostatic effects of the membrane potential on both reversible as well as unidirectional dynamic processes of membrane proteins.

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Section: Two‐state Rigid‐body Motion Is a Common Way To Utilize Electsupporting

confidence: 59%

Interplay between the electrostatic membrane potential and conformational changes in membrane proteins

Zhang

2019

Protein Science

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“…The current work is also motivated by recent atomic force microscope (AFM) studies on the quasi‐liquid layer at ice surfaces and the anomalous dielectric properties of the nano‐scale water . In these experimental studies, the AFM tip near the water surface was served as an electrode, therefore, the strength of the electric field between the electrode surface and water surface depends on the applied voltage on the AFM tip and there should exit strong correlation between the charge fluctuation on the metal surface and the thermal capillary fluctuation for the dipolar water surfaces.…”

Section: Background and Originality Contentmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Constant Potential Molecular Dynamics Simulation Study of the Atomic‐Scale Structure of Water Surfaces Near Electrodes

Yang

Wang²,

Liang

et al. 2019

Chin. J. Chem.

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Summary of main observation and conclusion Novel and technologically important processes and phenomena arise at water surfaces in the presence of electric fields. However, experimental measurements on water surfaces are challenging, and the results are scarce and inconclusive. In this work, the constant potential molecular dynamics method, in which the electrode charges are allowed to fluctuate to keep the electric potential fixed, was implemented in the study of a near‐electrode water surface systems. This simulation system was set up with a vapor/liquid‐water/vapor slab and two electrodes under different sets of applied electrostatic potential, yielding i) a detailed characterization of the external E‐field dependent electrostatic potential/density/dipole moment density profiles, and ii) the relationship between the water surface width and the applied electrode voltage differences which has been rarely reported. The adjustments in the number density profiles in the vicinity of water surfaces due to external E‐fields were observed, while the capillary interfacial widths for the surfaces near both cathode and anode were found with different increment rates under increasing E‐fields. By examining dipole density profiles across the water surfaces, we found that external E‐field induced polarization occurs in both bulk and surface regimes, yet the surface polarization densities vary asymmetrically with respect to the increasing E‐fields. Detailed discussions were carried out to explain the correlation between water surface tension and surface widths, as well as the interplay between the surface polarization densities and the hydrogen bond network structure. We conclude that the mechanical and structural properties of the water surfaces could be tuned by both magnitude and direction of the strong external E‐fields. We also recognize that more surface properties with application value, such as dielectric permittivity tensor or surface potential, could also be regulated by the external E‐fields.

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“…The current state‐of‐the‐art nanotechnology has created numerous approaches to generate confined space on the nanoscale to reinvestigate various physicochemical phenomenon 1. For examples, the dielectric constant of water confined in channels with distance down to 1 nm decreases from ≈80 for bulk water to ≈2, because of the restricted rotational freedom of water dipoles near surfaces 2. Moreover, the water molecules confined in inter‐nanoparticles gaps show ice‐like structure at room temperature 3.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Metastable Zirconium Phosphate under Nanoconfinement with Superior Adsorption Capability for Water Treatment

Zhang

Shen

Pan

et al. 2020

Adv Funct Materials

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In confined space with length scale of several nanometers, the phase behavior of matter, e.g., nucleation and crystallization, is completely different from its analogue in bulk. However, in environmental applications, the relationship between the nanoconfined crystallization behavior of inorganic crystals and their properties for pollutant removal is rarely elucidated. Herein, an unusual formation of zirconium phosphate (ZrP) crystals as a mixture of both thermodynamically stable α‐ and metastable γ‐phases inside the nanoconfinement of 7.9 nm pores of mesoporous polystyrene (MPS) is reported. This consequently changes the interaction between ZrP and toxic metal cations from nonspecific electrostatic attraction of normal α‐ZrP to highly specific inner‐sphere coordination of nanoconfined γ‐ZrP, which exhibits remarkable reactivity as well as reusability for the removal of toxic metals. The results of this study contribute to a better understanding of the use of nanoconfinement for the regulation of material properties.

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Anomalously low dielectric constant of confined water

Cited by 764 publications

References 42 publications

Interplay between the electrostatic membrane potential and conformational changes in membrane proteins

Interplay between the electrostatic membrane potential and conformational changes in membrane proteins

A Constant Potential Molecular Dynamics Simulation Study of the Atomic‐Scale Structure of Water Surfaces Near Electrodes

Metastable Zirconium Phosphate under Nanoconfinement with Superior Adsorption Capability for Water Treatment

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