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Updated: Mar 24, 2026

Probing the Structure and Dynamics of Interfacial Water with Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and Spectroscopy
Published on: May 27, 2018
Structure and dynamics of water at the mackinawite (001) surface
Umberto Terranova1, Nora H de Leeuw2
1Department of Chemistry, University College London, London WC1H 0AJ, United Kingdom.
Abstract:
We present a molecular dynamics investigation of the properties of water at the interface with the mackinawite (001) surface. We find water in the first layer to be characterised by structural properties which are reminiscent of hydrophobic substrates, with the bulk behaviour being recovered beyond the second layer. In addition, we show that the mineral surface reduces the mobility of interfacial water compared to the bulk. Finally, we discuss the important differences introduced by simulating water under conditions of high temperature and pressure, a scenario relevant to geochemistry.
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