Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 5, 2026
10:28
Probing the Structure and Dynamics of Interfacial Water with Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and Spectroscopy
Published on: May 27, 2018
Water clusters on Cu(110): chain versus cyclic structures.
T Kumagai1, H Okuyama, S Hatta
1Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan.
The Journal of Chemical Physics
|January 19, 2011
Summary
Researchers imaged water clusters on copper, revealing zigzag chains favored by smaller clusters due to substrate interactions. Larger clusters shift to cyclic forms, showing a transition in water molecule arrangement.
Area of Science:
- Surface science
- Physical chemistry
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Understanding water molecule behavior on metal surfaces is crucial for catalysis and nanotechnology.
- Previous studies have explored water adsorption but lacked detailed structural insights at the molecular level.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the structural configurations of small water clusters on a Cu(110) surface.
- To determine the factors influencing the assembly of water molecules, specifically the role of substrate interaction versus hydrogen bonding.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) to assemble and image water clusters.
- Analyzing the arrangement of water molecules (trimers to hexamers) on the Cu(110) surface.
Main Results:
- Observed water molecules forming "ferroelectric" zigzag chains along copper rows.
- Found that trimers favor chain formation over cyclic structures, emphasizing water-substrate interactions.
- Identified a shift towards cyclic configurations for tetramers, indicating a change in dominant interaction.
Conclusions:
- Water cluster formation on Cu(110) is governed by a balance between water-substrate interactions and intermolecular hydrogen bonding.
- The transition from chain to cyclic structures with increasing cluster size highlights a fundamental aspect of molecular self-assembly on surfaces.
Related Concept Videos
02:11Conformations of Cyclohexane
Cyclohexane does not exist in a planar form due to the high angle and torsional strain it would experience in the planar structure. Instead, it adopts non-planar chair and boat conformations.
The chair form is the most stable and derives its name from its resemblance to the “easy chair.” In the chair conformation, two carbon atoms are arranged out-of-plane — one above and one below, minimizing the torsional strain. In the chair form, the bond angle is very close to the ideal tetrahedral value,...
The chair form is the most stable and derives its name from its resemblance to the “easy chair.” In the chair conformation, two carbon atoms are arranged out-of-plane — one above and one below, minimizing the torsional strain. In the chair form, the bond angle is very close to the ideal tetrahedral value,...
02:37Metallic Solids
Metallic solids such as crystals of copper, aluminum, and iron are formed by metal atoms. The structure of metallic crystals is often described as a uniform distribution of atomic nuclei within a “sea” of delocalized electrons. The atoms within such a metallic solid are held together by a unique force known as metallic bonding that gives rise to many useful and varied bulk properties.
All metallic solids exhibit high thermal and electrical conductivity, metallic luster, and malleability. Many...
All metallic solids exhibit high thermal and electrical conductivity, metallic luster, and malleability. Many...
02:02Chair Conformation of Cyclohexane
The chair conformation is the most stable form of cyclohexane due to the absence of angle and torsional strain. The absence of angle strain is a result of cyclohexane’s bond angle being very close to the ideal tetrahedral bond angle of 109.5° in its chair conformer. Similarly, the torsional strain is also absent owing to the perfectly staggered arrangement of bonds.
The hydrogen atoms linked to carbons are arranged in two different axial and equatorial orientations to achieve this staggered...
The hydrogen atoms linked to carbons are arranged in two different axial and equatorial orientations to achieve this staggered...
02:42Ionic Crystal Structures
Ionic crystals consist of two or more different kinds of ions that usually have different sizes. The packing of these ions into a crystal structure is more complex than the packing of metal atoms that are the same size.
Most monatomic ions behave as charged spheres, and their attraction for ions of opposite charge is the same in every direction. Consequently, stable structures for ionic compounds result (1) when ions of one charge are surrounded by as many ions as possible of the opposite...
Most monatomic ions behave as charged spheres, and their attraction for ions of opposite charge is the same in every direction. Consequently, stable structures for ionic compounds result (1) when ions of one charge are surrounded by as many ions as possible of the opposite...
02:33Lattice Centering and Coordination Number
The structure of a crystalline solid, whether a metal or not, is best described by considering its simplest repeating unit, which is referred to as its unit cell. The unit cell consists of lattice points that represent the locations of atoms or ions. The entire structure then consists of this unit cell repeating in three dimensions. The three different types of unit cells present in the cubic lattice are illustrated in Figure 1.
Types of Unit Cells
Imagine taking a large number of identical...
Types of Unit Cells
Imagine taking a large number of identical...
01:18Aromatic Hydrocarbon Cations: Structural Overview
Cycloheptatriene is a neutral monocyclic unsaturated hydrocarbon that consists of an odd number of carbon atoms and an intervening sp3 carbon in the ring. The three double bonds in the ring correspond to 6 π electrons, which is a Huckel number, and therefore satisfies the criteria of 4n + 2 π electrons. However, the intervening sp3 carbon disrupts the continuous overlap of p orbitals. As a result, cycloheptatriene is not aromatic.
Removing one hydrogen from the intervening CH2 group with both...
Removing one hydrogen from the intervening CH2 group with both...