Water Adsorption on Mica Surfaces with Hydrophilicity Tuned by Counterion Types (Na, K, and Cs) and Structural Fluorination.

ABSTRACT: The stability of adsorbed water films on mineral surfaces has far-reaching implications in the Earth, environmental, and materials sciences. Here, we use the basal plane of phlogopite mica, an atomically smooth surface of a natural mineral, to investigate water film structure and stability as a function of two features that modulate surface hydrophilicity: the type of adsorbed counterions (Na, K, and Cs) and the substitution of structural OH groups by F atoms. We use molecular dynamics simulations combined with in situ high-resolution X-ray reflectivity to examine surface hydration over a range of water loadings, from the adsorption of isolated water molecules to the formation of clusters and films. We identify four regimes characterized by distinct adsorption energetics and different sens

SUBMITTER: Koishi A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10597534 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature