ESR evidence for 2 coexisting liquid phases in deeply supercooled bulk water

Banerjee, D and Bhat, SN and Bhata, SV and Leporini, D (2009) ESR evidence for 2 coexisting liquid phases in deeply supercooled bulk water. In: Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America, 106 (28). pp. 11448-11453.

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Abstract

Using electron spin resonance spectroscopy (ESR), we measure the rotational mobility of probe molecules highly diluted in deeply supercooled bulk water and negligibly constrained by the possible ice fraction. The mobility increases above the putative glass transition temperature of water, T-g = 136 K, and smoothly connects to the thermodynamically stable region by traversing the so called "no man's land" (the range 150-235 K), where it is believed that the homogeneous nucleation of ice suppresses the liquid water. Two coexisting fractions of the probe molecules are evidenced. The 2 fractions exhibit different mobility and fragility; the slower one is thermally activated (low fragility) and is larger at low temperatures below a fragile-to-strong dynamic cross-over at approximate to 225 K. The reorientation of the probe molecules decouples from the viscosity below approximate to 225 K. The translational diffusion of water exhibits a corresponding decoupling at the same temperature [Chen S-H, et al. (2006) The violation of the Stokes-Einstein relation in supercooled water. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 103:12974-12978]. The present findings are consistent with key issues concerning both the statics and the dynamics of supercooled water, namely the large structural fluctuations [Poole PH, Sciortino F, Essmann U, Stanley HE (1992) Phase behavior of metastable water. Nature 360: 324-328] and the fragile-to-strong dynamic cross-over at approximate to 228 K [Ito K, Moynihan CT, Angell CA (1999) Thermodynamic determination of fragility in liquids and a fragile-tostrong liquid transition in water. Nature 398: 492-494].

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America
Publisher:	National Academy of Sciences
Additional Information:	Copy rights of this article belongs to National Academy of Sciences.
Keywords:	Decoupling Of Transport Properties; Dynamic Cross-Over In Water; Dynamic Heterogeneity; Supercooled Water; Polycrystalline Materials.
Department/Centre:	Division of Physical & Mathematical Sciences > Physics
Date Deposited:	10 Aug 2009 11:49
Last Modified:	19 Sep 2010 05:40
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/22063

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