title: The glass-liquid transition of water on hydrophobic surfaces.
abstract: Interactions of thin water films with surfaces of graphite and vitrified room-temperature ionic liquid [1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([bmim][PF(6)])] were investigated using time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry as a function of temperature and annealing time to elucidate the glass-liquid transition of water at the molecular level. Surface diffusion of water occurs at temperatures higher than 120 K, thereby forming three-dimensional clusters (a two-dimensional layer) on the [bmim][PF(6)] (graphite) surface. The hydrophobic effect of the surface decreases with increasing coverage of water; the bulklike properties evolve up to 40 ML, as evidenced by the occurrence of film dewetting at around the conventional glass transition temperature (140 K). Results also showed that aging is necessary for the water monolayer (a 40 ML water film) to dewet the graphite ([bmim][PF(6)]) surface. The occurrence of aging is explainable by the successive evolution of two distinct liquids during the glass-liquid transition: low density liquid is followed by supercooled liquid water. The water monolayer on graphite is characterized by the preferred orientation of unpaired OH groups toward the surface; this structure is arrested during the aging time despite the occurrence of surface diffusion. However, the water monolayer formed on the [bmim][PF(6)] surface agglomerates immediately after the commencement of surface diffusion. The structure of low density liquid tends to be arrested by the attractive interaction with the neighbors.
authors.affiliation: Nanoscale Materials Center, National Institute for Materials Science, 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0044, Japan. souda.ryutaro@nims.go.jp
authors.forename: Ryutaro
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Souda
mesh_terms: D004058:Diffusion; D005898:Glass / Q000737:chemistry*; D006108:Graphite / Q000737:chemistry; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D007093:Imidazoles / Q000737:chemistry; D044367:Phase Transition; D013499:Surface Properties; D013696:Temperature; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: C412621:1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate; D007093:Imidazoles; D014867:Water; D006108:Graphite