Experimental Evidences of Stable Water Nanostructures at Standard Pressure and Temperature Obtained by Iterative Filtration
Elia V1, Ausanio G4, De Ninno A3*, Germano R2, Napoli E1 and Niccoli M1
1Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Naples “Federico II”, Complesso Universitario Monte Sant’Angelo, Via Cinthia 80126, Naples, Italy
2PROMETE Srl, CNR Spin off Via Buongiovanni, 49 80046 San Giorgio a Cremano (NA), Italy
3ENEA Frascati, UTAPRAD-DIM Department C.R. 00044 Frascati, Italy
4Department of Physics and CNR-SPIN University “Federico II” of Naples, Piazzale V. Tecchio 80 80125 Naples, Italy
*Correspondence E-mail: [email protected]
Key Words: Water, Nanostructures, Iterative filtration, Nafion membrane, Spectroscopy, Microscopy
Received June 13th, 2013; Revised Sept 23rd, 2013; Accepted Nov 13th, 2013; Published Jan 11th, 2014; Available online January 20th, 2014
Abstract
In a previous paper (WATER Journal Vol. 5) we have shown the modifications induced in the supra-molecular structure of water after iterative long lasting contact with a Nafion® surface. In the present paper we show that structural changes can also be induced by other kinds of perturbations such as the iterative filtration on sintered glass and disposable (Millipore) filters. Fourier Transformed Infrared spectroscopy, UV spectroscopy and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) have been used to study samples after the iterative filtering: the UV spectrum shows the appearance of an absorption peak at about 275 nm while the FT-IR of filtered water remains substantially unchanged with respect the untreated water. Sample of 20 ml have been then lyophilised obtaining an unexpected amount of solid residues whose nature has been investigated by FT-IR, and a few drops have been evaporated on mica sample holders at room temperature and pressure for AFM investigation. The emerging picture suggests that physical perturbations having a low energy content can promote an unexpected auto-organization in liquid water, able to survive to the evaporation with the formation of a solid phase stable at standard pressure and temperature.