Water is not one liquid, but two interconnected ones, according to a study by a team from the University of Aveiro (UA) that opens up new prospects in seawater desalination, an academic source said on Friday.
The researchers used light-emitting nanoparticles to monitor the movement of water molecules around the nanoparticle as the temperature of the liquid increased.
“We observed two different types of movement, suggesting that at temperatures below 45°C, water alternates between a low-density liquid state (LDL) and a high-density liquid state (HDL), which is more typical of liquid water, causing the nanoparticles to move slower. “says Luis Carlos, one of the UA team’s researchers.
“Above this temperature, water exists mainly in the HDL state, which leads to faster movement of the nanoparticles,” adds Luis Carlos.
By controlling the relative proportion of LDL and HDL molecular structures, scientists will now be able to influence the behavior of liquid water.
Luis Carlos cites the existence of a more efficient desalination process in the future as an example.
“LDL is 20% less dense than HDL, which affects water movement, which could help us remove salt from seawater more efficiently,” he predicts.
The explanation is that “water behaves like a chameleon, existing as a mixture of two forms: low-density liquid (LDL) and high-density liquid.”
In the first case, the molecules bind to each other, occupying a larger volume, and in the second, in a high-density liquid, the molecules bind more compactly,” notes the researcher.
The idea that water can be described as a mixture of two different hydrogen bond structures was first proposed in 1892 by Wilhelm Roentgen, a German physicist who received the first Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901 in recognition of his discovery of X-rays. revised at the end of the 20th century.
“Although there is evidence to support the coexistence of these two forms of water at very low temperatures, proving their existence at room temperature has been a mystery,” explains Luis Carlos.
In addition to Luis Carlos, the research team included Fernando Maturi, Ramon Filho and Carlos Braites, all researchers from the Department of Physics and the Institute of Materials of Aveiro (CICECO), and in collaboration with the University of Singapore and from Harvey Mudd College (USA).
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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