Insight into the microstructure of water molecules in smart water services requires infrared spectroscopy

Although water is of great significance to the formation of life, humans know very little about water. Just like how the water on the earth came from, it is still an unsolved mystery for humans. However, regardless of whether water comes from outside or inside the earth, it cannot shake its important position in the evolution of life. Water is not only very precious, but it is also one of the most unique substances on the earth. For example, its unusual density allows it to change between the three states of gas, liquid and solid at will. The freezing temperature that decreases with the increase of pressure can make water in the deep sea Water does not freeze, and its polar water molecules make it a good solvent for many substances.

We have known for a long time that water molecules are composed of an oxygen atom and a hydrogen atom, but we have no idea how it participates in regulating temperature, dissolving inorganic matter, enzymatic reactions, and material metabolism. There have always been many doubts about biochemical reactions and their existence in nature. In many current studies on liquid water, water is often considered as a background environment. In recent years, with the continuous development and advancement of analytical technology, the study of liquid water properties and microstructure has gradually attracted widespread attention.

It is understood that water in nature is usually composed of several water molecules clustered together through hydrogen bonds, also known as water clusters. People have always believed that small water droplets are water clusters composed of six water molecules, but a recent domestic research result has changed people's misunderstanding of the microstructure of liquid water.

Recently, the team of researcher Jiang Ling and academician Yang Xueming of the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the research team of Professor Li Jun of Tsinghua University, through their independently developed neutral clusters based on the Dalian coherent light source The infrared spectroscopy experimental device found that there is a three-dimensional structure in the water cluster composed of five water molecules. Under limited temperature conditions, the structural characteristics and spectral characteristics of bulk water can be displayed, proving that small water droplets are composed of five water molecules. composed of water clusters. It provides new ideas for uncovering the microstructural evolution of water.

An infrared spectrometer is an instrument that uses the absorption characteristics of substances to infrared radiation of different wavelengths to analyze the molecular structure and chemical composition. Through infrared spectroscopy, we can understand the structure and chemical bonds of molecules, and then infer the three-dimensional configuration of the molecules. As a&ldq in the field of analysis and detectionuo; One of the "Four Famous Spectrums", infrared spectroscopy is active in polymer chemistry, environmental science, materials science, petroleum industry, biomedicine and other fields with its excellent qualitative analysis properties, becoming the "eyes" of scientific research and production.< br />

Nowadays, domestic cutting-edge analytical technologies and application methods are emerging one after another, the policy market is frequently improving, and more and more scientific research institutions and instrument companies have also injected a steady stream of input into the development of spectrometers Motivation, I believe that under the joint promotion of multiple factors, the development and application of spectrometers will reach a higher level in the future.