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Glass-to-cryogenic-liquid transitions in aqueous solutions suggested by crack healing

Cornell Affiliated Author(s)

Author

C.U. Kim
M.W. Tate
Sol Gruner

Abstract

Observation of theorized glass-to-liquid transitions between lowdensity amorphous (LDA) and high-density amorphous (HDA) water states had been stymied by rapid crystallization below the homogeneous water nucleation temperature (∼235 K at 0.1 MPa). We report optical and X-ray observations suggestive of glass-toliquid transitions in these states. Crack healing, indicative of liquid, occurs when LDA ice transforms to cubic ice at 160 K, and when HDA ice transforms to the LDA state at temperatures as low as 120 K. X-ray diffraction study of the HDA to LDA transition clearly shows the characteristics of a first-order transition. Study of the glass-toliquid transitions in nanoconfined aqueous solutions shows them to be independent of the solute concentrations, suggesting that they represent an intrinsic property of water. These findings support theories that LDA and HDA ice are thermodynamically distinct and that they are continuously connected to two different liquid states of water.

Date Published

Journal

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

Volume

112

Issue

38

Number of Pages

11765-11770,

URL

https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84942911683&doi=10.1073%2fpnas.1510256112&partnerID=40&md5=371d271be48dd1ddb53c83f2a86e54e9

DOI

10.1073/pnas.1510256112

Group (Lab)

Sol M. Gruner Group

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