Dynamics of Water in Partially
Crystallized Solutions of Glass Forming
Materials and Polymers: Implications
on the Behavior of Bulk Water
Silvina Cerveny and Jan Swenson
Abstract There is no simpler compound than water. It is the most copious substance
on Earth and the most important constituent for life, as we know. There is also
a continuous scientific interest due to its exceptional and infrequent properties,
such as a density maximum at 4 °C (at atmospheric pressure), a high specific heat
capacity, and a low viscosity under high pressure, among other macroscopic properties. The origin of the unusual properties of water is evidenced at lower temperatures
in the no man’s land temperature region (235–150 K), where bulk water cannot remain
in an amorphous state. Instead, in this region, bulk water crystallizes in a complex
phase diagram with more than 16 crystalline phases. Therefore, most of the work
done so far on supercooled water focuses on the investigation of the dynamics when
crystallization is suppressed using different types of confinements, such as nanocavities or by mixing water with other solutes (polymers, proteins, or DNA). On the
contrary, in this chapter, we will use broadband dielectric spectroscopy to analyze
the dynamics of aqueous solutions and confined water when it is partially crystallized, i.e., when liquid water and ice coexist. With this technique, it is possible to
obtain information about the molecular relaxations in both amorphous and crystalline
phases. We have analyzed the results of this semi-crystalline water and compared
them with the response of supercooled water in fully amorphous solutions. Finally,
we discuss the implications of these results on the behavior of bulk water.
Keywords Supercooled water · Ice · Crystallization · Dynamic crossover · BDS ·
NMR
S. Cerveny (B)
Centro de Física de Materiales (CSIC-UPV/EHU)-Material Physics Centre (MPC), Paseo Manuel
de Lardizabal 5 (20018), San Sebastián, Spain
e-mail: silvina.cerveny@ehu.es
Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC), Paseo Manuel de Lardizabal 4 (20018), San
Sebastián, Spain
J. Swenson
Department of Physics, Chalmers University of Technology, 412 96 Göteborg, Sweden
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
T. A. Ezquerra and A. Nogales (eds.), Crystallization as Studied
by Broadband Dielectric Spectroscopy, Advances in Dielectrics,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56186-4_7
169
Crystallized Solutions of Glass Forming
Materials and Polymers: Implications
on the Behavior of Bulk Water
Silvina Cerveny and Jan Swenson
Abstract There is no simpler compound than water. It is the most copious substance
on Earth and the most important constituent for life, as we know. There is also
a continuous scientific interest due to its exceptional and infrequent properties,
such as a density maximum at 4 °C (at atmospheric pressure), a high specific heat
capacity, and a low viscosity under high pressure, among other macroscopic properties. The origin of the unusual properties of water is evidenced at lower temperatures
in the no man’s land temperature region (235–150 K), where bulk water cannot remain
in an amorphous state. Instead, in this region, bulk water crystallizes in a complex
phase diagram with more than 16 crystalline phases. Therefore, most of the work
done so far on supercooled water focuses on the investigation of the dynamics when
crystallization is suppressed using different types of confinements, such as nanocavities or by mixing water with other solutes (polymers, proteins, or DNA). On the
contrary, in this chapter, we will use broadband dielectric spectroscopy to analyze
the dynamics of aqueous solutions and confined water when it is partially crystallized, i.e., when liquid water and ice coexist. With this technique, it is possible to
obtain information about the molecular relaxations in both amorphous and crystalline
phases. We have analyzed the results of this semi-crystalline water and compared
them with the response of supercooled water in fully amorphous solutions. Finally,
we discuss the implications of these results on the behavior of bulk water.
Keywords Supercooled water · Ice · Crystallization · Dynamic crossover · BDS ·
NMR
S. Cerveny (B)
Centro de Física de Materiales (CSIC-UPV/EHU)-Material Physics Centre (MPC), Paseo Manuel
de Lardizabal 5 (20018), San Sebastián, Spain
e-mail: silvina.cerveny@ehu.es
Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC), Paseo Manuel de Lardizabal 4 (20018), San
Sebastián, Spain
J. Swenson
Department of Physics, Chalmers University of Technology, 412 96 Göteborg, Sweden
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
T. A. Ezquerra and A. Nogales (eds.), Crystallization as Studied
by Broadband Dielectric Spectroscopy, Advances in Dielectrics,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56186-4_7
169