Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 23, 2025

Probing the Structure and Dynamics of Interfacial Water with Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and Spectroscopy
Published on: May 27, 2018
Anomalously High Proton Conduction of Interfacial Water
V G Artemov1, E Uykur2, P O Kapralov3
1Center for Energy Science and Technology, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, 121205 Moscow, Russia.
Abstract:
Water at the solid-liquid interface exhibits an anomalous ionic conductivity and dielectric constant compared to bulk water. Both phenomena still lack a detailed understanding. Here, we report radio-frequency measurements and analyses of the electrodynamic properties of interfacial water confined in nanoporous matrices formed by diamond grains of various sizes, ranging from 5 nm to 0.5 μm in diameter. Contrary to bulk water, the charge-carrying protons/holes in interfacial water are not mutually screened, allowing for higher mobility in the external electric field. Thus, the protonic conductivity reaches a maximum value, which can be 5 orders of magnitude higher than that of bulk water. Our results aid in the understanding of physical and chemical properties of water confined in porous materials and pave the way to the development of new type of highly efficient proton-conductive materials for applications in electrochemical energy systems, membrane separations science, and nanofluidics.
Related Concept Videos
Aquaporins
Intermolecular Forces
Solubility Equilibria: Ionic Product of Water
The ionic product of water varies with temperature, and its value is 1.0 x 10−14 at standard experimental conditions. Per Le...
Water: A Bronsted-Lowry Acid and Base
ATP Driven Pumps I: An Overview
There are four main types of ATP-driven pumps - P-type, V-type, F-type, and ABC transporter. All these pumps are of varying complexities and...
Cohesion
On a...

