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Author(s): S. Dixit [1]; J. Crain [1]; W. C. K. Poon [1]; J. L. Finney [2]; A. K. Soper (corresponding author) [3] When a simple alcohol such as methanol or [...]

Neutron diffraction with H/D isotopic substitution is used to investigate the structure of low density amorphous ice produced from (1) high density amorphous ice by isobaric warming and (2) very high density amorphous ice by isothermal decompression. Differences are found in the scattering patterns of the two low density amorphous ices that correlate with structural perturbations on intermediate length scales in the hydrogen bonded water network. Atomistic modeling suggests that the structural states of the two samples may relate to a competition between short range and intermediate range order and disorder. This structural difference in two low density amorphous (LDA) ices is also evident when comparing their compression behavior. In terms of the energy landscape formalism this finding implies that we have produced and characterized the structural difference of two different basins within the LDA-megabasin corresponding to identical macroscopic densities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using isotope substitution neutron scattering data, we present a detailed structural analysis of the short and intermediate range structures of the five known forms of amorphous ice. Two of the lower density forms—amorphous solid water and hyperquenched glassy water—have a structure very similar to each other and to low density amorphous ice, a structure which closely resembles a disordered, tetrahedrally coordinated, fully hydrogen bonded network. High density and very high density amorphous ices retain this tetrahedral organization at short range, but show significant differences beyond about 3.1 Å from a typical water oxygen. The first diffraction peak in all structures is seen to be solely a function of the intermolecular organization. The short range connectivity in the two higher density forms is more homogeneous, while the hydrogen site disorder in these forms is greater. The low Q behavior of the structure factors indicates no significant density or concentration fluctuations over the length scale probed. We conclude that these three latter forms of ice are structurally distinct. Finally, the x-ray structure factors for all five amorphous systems are calculated for comparison with other studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molecular segregation in methanol-water mixtures is studied across a wide concentration range as a function of temperature and pressure. Cluster distributions obtained from both neutron diffraction and molecular dynamics simulations point to significantly enhanced segregation as the mixtures are cooled or compressed. This evolution toward greater molecular heterogenity in the mixture accounts for the observed changes in the water-water radial distribution function and there are indications also of a change in the topology of the water clusters. The observed behavior is consistent with an approach to an upper critical solution point. Such a point would appear to be “hidden” below the freezing line, thereby precluding observation of the two-fluid region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salting out of amphiphiles from aqueous solution is a process of central importance in aqueous solution chemistry and of major application in the concentration of macromolecules and the crystallization of proteins. Despite its importance, our understanding of the mechanism is poor, there being no direct experimental evidence to support the several competing explanations in the literature. Using neutron diffraction with isotope substitution, we report a structural study of the effect of adding a simple salting out agent (NaCl) to a dilute solution of an amphiphile (t-butanol). The results show clearly that the anion is central to driving the changes in association of the amphiphile through the formation of an anion bridge between the polar ends of neighboring alcohol molecules. This further exposes the nonpolar surface of the amphiphile and suggests that further association may then occur through hydrophobic interaction. The mechanism uncovered is both different from those currently in the literature and relatively simple, and offers a possible route forward to understanding the variation in salting out efficacy of different ions as indicated by the Hofmeister or lyotropic series. © 2003 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

No reliable structural data have been reported on ice II under pressure, earlier work in the literature relating either to samples recovered to ambient pressure or the helium hydrate that is formed when helium is used as the pressurizing medium. We report structural refinements of helium-free ice II at three points in the phase's region of stability. The structural differences from the helium-affected structure are significant, and can be related to the mainly repulsive interaction between the helium and both the oxygen and hydrogen atoms of the ice framework. These repulsions explain, among other changes, the different behaviors of the a (expansion) and c (contraction) lattice parameters, and the change in compressibility on the inclusion of helium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neutron diffraction involving seven isotope substitution experiments is used to extract the methyl hydrogen to the water hydrogen partial structure factor in a 2.0 m aqueous solution of tetramethylammonium chloride, in order to investigate the orientation of water molecules around the TMA ion. The correlation function of the TMA centers with water molecule centers is obtained and shows that the average distance is about 4.7 Å, in agreement with the result found previously using a nitrogen isotope substitution. The technique of spherical harmonic reconstruction is used to obtain orientational correlation functions between TMA ions and water molecules. The results show that the TMA ion has a predominantly ‘‘apolar’’ character in water but that a range of water molecule orientations around the ion are possible. © 1995 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Detailed structural studies using powder neutron diffraction have been carried out on ices III and IX on both under-pressure and recovered samples. The incomplete hydrogen ordering in recovered ice IX first observed by La Placa et al. is confirmed, and our studies suggest similar orderings for the under-pressure and recovered phases. Sample history was observed to influence the lattice constants of ice IX, an effect which could relate to hydrogen ordering. There is an indication that ice III is not fully disordered, a conclusion which would be consistent with independent thermodynamic measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inelastic incoherent neutron scattering (IINS) cross sections have been measured for the recovered high-pressure phases of ice, ices II, V, VI, and IX (H2O) and ices II and IX (D2O) in the energy range from 2 to 150 meV at 20 K using the TFXA (time-focused crystal analyzer) neutron spectrometer on the ISIS pulsed neutron source at the Rutherford-Appleton Laboratory. The excellent resolution of the TFXA (less than 2%) covers the whole range of translational and librational modes for the ices investigated and enables us to identify the fine structures in their spectra. Hence a direct comparison between the amplitude-weighted phonon density of states derived from the experimental spectrum and from a lattice dynamic calculation is possible [E. Whalley and J. E. Bertie, J. Chem. Phys. 46, 1271 (1967); J. E. Bertie and E. Whalley, ibid. 40, 1646 (1964)]. The spectra from these polymorphic ices show many new features in the translational region, which are not visible using infared and Raman techniques. In the librational band region, the general features vary remarkably between phases. Thus, for instance, ice II, in which the protons are ordered, shows more structure in this region and has a sharper low-energy cutoff than do the other phases examined. The most significant observation is that the low-energy cutoff is characteristic of the phase. Relative to ice Ih, there is a shift of 4.3 meV for ice IX, of 8.8 meV for ice II, 8.6 meV for ice V, and 12.2 meV for ice VI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]