青瓜视频

A breakthrough by researchers at The University of Manchester sheds light on one of nature青瓜视频檚 most elusive forces, with wide-reaching implications for medicine, energy, climate modelling and more.

Researchers at The University of Manchester have developed a ground-breaking method to precisely measure the strength of hydrogen bonds in confined water systems, an advance that could transform our understanding of water青瓜视频檚 role in biology, materials science, and technology. The work, published in , introduces a fundamentally new way to think about one of nature青瓜视频檚 most important but difficult-to-quantify interactions.

Hydrogen bonds are the invisible forces that hold water molecules together, giving water its unique properties, from high boiling point to surface tension, and enabling critical biological functions such as protein folding and DNA structure. Yet despite their significance, quantifying hydrogen bonds in complex or confined environments has long been a challenge.

青瓜视频淔or decades, scientists have struggled to measure hydrogen bond strength with precision,青瓜视频� said , who led the study with and Dr Ziwei Wang. 青瓜视频淥ur approach reframes hydrogen bonds as electrostatic interactions between dipoles and an electric field, which allows us to calculate their strength directly from spectroscopic data.青瓜视频�

The team used gypsum (CaSO鈧劼�2H鈧侽), a naturally occurring mineral that contains two-dimensional layers of crystalline water, as their model system. By applying external electric fields to water molecules trapped between the mineral青瓜视频檚 layers, and tracking their vibrational response using high-resolution spectroscopy, the researchers were able to quantify hydrogen bonding with unprecedented accuracy.

青瓜视频淲hat青瓜视频檚 most exciting is the predictive power of this technique,青瓜视频� said Dr Yang. 青瓜视频淲ith a simple spectroscopic measurement, we can predict how water behaves in confined environments that were previously difficult to probe, something that normally requires complex simulations or remains entirely inaccessible.青瓜视频�

The implications are broad and compelling. In water purification, this method could help engineers fine-tune membrane materials to optimise hydrogen bonding, improving water flow and selectivity while reducing energy costs. In drug development, it offers a way to predict how water binds to molecules and their targets, potentially accelerating the design of more soluble and effective drugs. It could enhance climate models by enabling more accurate simulations of water青瓜视频檚 phase transitions in clouds and the atmosphere. In energy storage, the discovery lays the foundation for 青瓜视频渉ydrogen bond heterostructures青瓜视频�, engineered materials with tailored hydrogen bonding that could dramatically boost battery performance. And in biomedicine, the findings could help create implantable sensors with better compatibility and longer lifespans by precisely controlling water-surface interactions.

青瓜视频淥ur work provides a framework to understand and manipulate hydrogen bonding in ways that weren青瓜视频檛 possible before,青瓜视频� said Dr Wang, first author of the paper. 青瓜视频淚t opens the door to designing new materials and technologies, from better catalysts to smarter membranes, based on the hidden physics of water.青瓜视频�

This research was published in the journal Nature Communications.

Full title: Quantifying hydrogen bonding using electrically tunable nanoconfined water

DOI: 

The research was supported by the European Research Council and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

The is a world-leading graphene and 2D material centre, focussed on fundamental research. Based at The University of Manchester, where graphene was first isolated in 2004 by Professors Sir Andre Geim and Sir Kostya Novoselov, it is home to leaders in their field 青瓜视频� a community of research specialists delivering transformative discovery. This expertise is matched by 青瓜视频13m leading-edge facilities, such as the largest class 5 and 6 cleanrooms in global academia, which gives the NGI the capabilities to advance underpinning industrial applications in key areas including: composites, functional membranes, energy, membranes for green hydrogen, ultra-high vacuum 2D materials, nanomedicine, 2D based printed electronics, and characterisation.