Molecular dynamics of glucose in solution: a quasielastic neutron scattering study

The molecular dynamics of glucose dissolved in heavy water have been investigated at 280 K by the technique of quasielastic neutron scattering. The scattering was described by a dynamic structure factor that accounts for decoupled diffusive jumps and free rotational motions of the glucose molecules. With increasing glucose concentration, the diffusion constant decreases by a factor five and the time between jumps increases considerably. Our observations validate theoretical predictions concerning the impact of concentration on the environment of a glucose molecule and the formation of cages made by neighboring glucose molecules at higher concentrations.