Effect of magnetic field on diffusion of ethylammonium nitrate – water mixtures confined between polar glass plates

We used 1H NMR diffusometry to study mixtures of ethylammonium nitrate (EAN) with water (3.1–12.4 mol% of added H2O) confined between polar glass plates and exposed to a static magnetic field of 9.4 T. The presence of such restrictions reverses the concentration dependence of the diffusivities of the EA (ethylammonium) cation and water typical for the bulk system. The presence of water weakens the effects of a static magnetic field on diffusion of the EA cation as well as on proton exchange of –NH3 groups. Surprisingly, the amplitude of the echo signal of water protons decreases during exposure to the magnetic field and finally disappears, a phenomenon that depends on the concentration of water in the system. Based on experimental data, we suggest that water in the system is present in two states with different dynamic properties. One type of water formed in confinement possesses NMR relaxation time typical for liquids; its diffusivity can be measured by 1H NMR. The second type of water is formed upon exposure of the sample of the first type to the magnetic field and eventually includes all the water in the system. This type of water possesses “solid-like” NMR relaxation features that makes it “invisible” to the NMR diffusometry technique. We suggest that this second type of water is adsorbed onto the glass plates. Correspondingly, EAN exists in two liquid phases: the first one contains an EAN-water mixture, while the second one contains neat EAN, and forms on the microscopic scale range under the influence of a static magnetic field.