Adsorbed water films play important roles in a range of natural environments, from unsaturated rocks and soils to the atmosphere. The chemical and transport properties of water in these films are thought to differ significantly from those of bulk liquid water, both because of confinement effects and, also, because of high concentrations of counterions and other solutes. Here, we present new molecular dynamics (MD) simulation results that examine the energetic and transport properties of water in thin films (with thickness of 0 to 3 nm) adsorbed on mica and silica surfaces as a function of film thickness and aqueous chemistry. Our results show that adsorbed counterions play a key role in controlling the energetics of water uptake, particularly in very thin adsorbed films.

Energetics of thin adsorbed water films on charged mineral surfaces

ACS Spring 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.