Interfaces govern the structure of angstrom-scale confined water solutions

Yongkang Wang, Fujie Tang, Xiaoqing Yu, Kuo-Yang Chiang, Chun-Chieh Yu, Tatsuhiko Ohto, Yunfei Chen, Yuki Nagata () and Mischa Bonn ()
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Yongkang Wang: Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research
Fujie Tang: Xiamen University
Xiaoqing Yu: Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research
Kuo-Yang Chiang: Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research
Chun-Chieh Yu: Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research
Tatsuhiko Ohto: Nagoya University
Yunfei Chen: Southeast University
Yuki Nagata: Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research
Mischa Bonn: Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract Nanoconfinement of aqueous electrolytes is ubiquitous in geological, biological, and technological contexts, including sedimentary rocks, water channel proteins, and applications like desalination and water purification membranes. The structure and properties of water in nanoconfinement can differ significantly from bulk water, exhibiting, for instance, modified hydrogen bonds, altered dielectric constant, and distinct phase transitions. Despite the importance of nanoconfined water, experimentally elucidating the nanoconfinement effects on water, such as its orientation and hydrogen bond (H-bond) network, has remained challenging. Here, we study two-dimensionally nanoconfined aqueous electrolyte solutions with tunable confinement from nanoscale to angstrom-scale sandwiched between a graphene sheet and calcium fluoride (CaF2) achieved by capillary condensation. We employ heterodyne-detection sum-frequency generation (HD-SFG) spectroscopy, a surface-specific vibrational spectroscopy capable of directly and selectively probing water orientation and H-bond environment at interfaces and under confinement. The vibrational spectra of the nanoconfined water can be described quantitatively by the sum of the individual interfacial water signals from the CaF2/water and water/graphene interfaces until the confinement reduces to angstrom-scale (

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-62625-w

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