Colloidal Crystal Formation at the “Nafion–Water” Interface

Abstract

In our recent work [Bunkin et al. Water 2013, 4, 129-154] it was first obtained that the water layer, having a size of several tens of micrometers and being adjacent to the swollen Nafion interface, is characterized by enhanced optical density; the refractive index of water at the interface is 1.46. Furthermore, the birefringence effect was observed in this layer. To explain these results, it has been hypothesized that because of "disentangling" of charged polymer chains from the Nafion surface toward the bulk of water, a photonic crystal close to the surface is formed [Bunkin et al. Water 2013, 4, 129-154]. In this paper, we describe experiments with laser-stimulated luminescence from dry and swollen Nafion. It was shown in the experiment with dry Nafion that the apparatus function of our experimental setup (Green's function) is well-described by a Gaussian profile. It was obtained that a highly concentrated colloidal suspension of Nafion particles with a steep spatial boundary is formed in the water layer adjacent to the interface. The volume density of the Nafion particles as a function of the distance from the Nafion interface was found. These findings can be considered indirect confirmation of the previously formulated photonic crystal hypothesis [Bunkin et al. Water 2013, 4, 129-154].

Self-oscillating Water Chemiluminescence Modes and Reactive Oxygen Species Generation Induced by Laser Irradiation; Effect of the Exclusion Zone Created by Nafion

“…It is clear that this effect cannot be attributed to the chemical reaction represented by Equation (12); as we know, there is no physical mechanism for the frequency filtering due to chemical reactions. However, as shown in [13] (see also our recent work [16]), the water in the EZ has a quasicrystalline structure. Therefore, the dynamics of the processes responsible for the chemiluminescence (the radiative ROS recombination, see Formulas (9)- (11)), has its own specificity in the EZ as compared with the bulk water.…”

“…In our recent works [14,15] we show that the water layer adjacent to the Nafion interface has an increased (with respect to ordinary water) refractive index; furthermore, it was found that the EZ water exhibits birefringence properties, which implies the quasi-crystalline structure of that liquid (note that the birefringence of water inside the EZ was first observed in [9]). In our recent luminescent spectroscopy experiments [16] we demonstrated that these intriguing effects can be attributed to the formation of colloidal crystals in the EZ; such crystals are composed of negatively charged rod-like particles-the Nafion polymeric chains-which are disentangled in the bulk of water and are packed with a certain order. It is straightforward to assume that a large class of physical effects, which have been reliably observed in the bulk of liquid water, will exhibit some specificity in the EZ.…”

Extension of the concept of an anomalous water component to images of T-cell organelles

“…Hence, it is possible to detect 4-water by interference methods. [4][5][6][7] Unfortunately, judging from the available literature, this fact has not been addressed at the level it deserves.…”

“…3 The second example is an RI of a water n ≈ 1.43 at the hydrophilic surface of Nafion, a synthetic polymer with ionic properties. 4,5,6 Cells of most organisms contain as much as 80% of water; in jellyfish, the percentage exceeds 95%. Therefore, it is logical to assume that the component referred to as 4-water 2 somehow affects microscopic phase images of cells and is detectable in these objects.…”

Extracellular matrix and its role in conveying glial/neural interactions in health and disease

“…We also became aware of the exclusion zone (EZ) found in interfacial water close to polyelectrolytes and its implication for the physiology of biological membranes and of blood flow in venules and capillaries (Zheng and Pollack [78]; Zheng et al [77]; Gouveia and Galembeck [26]; Chai and Pollack [6]; Bunkin et al [3]; Rohani and Pollack [53]). And finally, in 2014 in a Gerald Pollack seminar at Galembeck's institute, we became aware of the polar liquid bridges studied by Elmar C. Fuchs' group (see Fuchs et al [19] and Wexler et al [74] or better watch their videos 2 ).…”