Just because water is the most common substance on Earth does not mean that we know it completely. In fact, a revolutionary new study has just shown that, under the right conditions, this liquid can take on properties that defy everything we know about it. The research, published in the journal Nature, reveals that water confined in nanometer spaces simultaneously becomes an electrical conductor and a large energy store.
The Investigation
This discovery, which seems straight out of science fiction, not only opens the door to a new generation of technologies in energy and biomedicine , but also has an important Spanish seal. It involves key participation from the University of Granada (UGR) in an international team led by the University of Manchester, which includes Nobel Prize-winning physicist Andre Geim.
Dual Behavior
Scientists discovered that when water is trapped in channels just one or two nanometers—a space a million times smaller than a millimeter—its electrical behavior transforms entirely. Interestingly, it acquires two properties that until now were considered contradictory.
The first of these properties is extreme electrical conductivity . This transformation means that water becomes such an effective conductor of energy that it rivals “superionic” liquids, allowing protons to move through it effortlessly.
Additionally, this unique state gives water a large storage capacity , comparable to that of “ferroelectric” materials, with a dielectric constant that spikes to values close to 1,000. For comparison, the typical dielectric constant for water hovers around 80.
Contradictory Findings
This finding is particularly striking as it contradicts previous research by the same team, published in Science in 2018. In that study, they had concluded that confined water became “electrically dead.”
What could explain the transformation into an electrical supermaterial? The answer lies in anisotropy : the properties of water change dramatically depending on the direction from which they are measured. The first study evaluated the water’s properties perpendicular to the layers that confined it, while the new findings measured them in parallel, unveiling its true potential.
Technological Revolution
Having in a single material, and in water no less, both a very high ionic conductivity and an unprecedented energy storage capacity is a dream for engineers. This dual behavior could potentially herald a new technological era across various fields.
One promising application lies in energy storage, enabling the development of much smaller, safer, and more efficient batteries and supercapacitors with ultra-fast charging times. Additionally, it paves the way for innovative methods in water purification, requiring significantly less energy than current systems.
Spanish Contribution
Measuring these properties on such a minuscule scale was a monumental technical feat, with raw data yielding complex signals. This is where the University of Granada’s contribution played a pivotal role.
René Fábregas, a researcher at the Department of Applied Mathematics at UGR, developed a sophisticated mathematical model to accurately interpret the experimental data. His work served as the “score” that provided meaning and coherence to the sometimes chaotic measurements, allowing the remarkable properties of confined water to emerge. In a statement from the UGR, they noted that without this mathematical model, the groundbreaking discovery would not have been achievable.
Overall, this revolutionary research not only expands our understanding of water but also opens up exciting new avenues for technological and scientific advancements. It challenges existing beliefs and highlights the complex nature of what we often consider a simple element.