Water under the microscope: new discoveries about its dielectric characterisation

What happens when water is confined in channels a few molecular layers thick?

This is the subject of a study conducted by Dr. Laura Fumagalli and Prof. Andre Geim of the University of Manchester, together with Prof. Giorgio Ferrari of the Politecnico di Milano, who observed the behaviour of water.

Under conditions of extreme confinement, water exhibits a dielectric response and electrical conductivity superior to those known on a macroscopic scale, reaching values similar to those of the most advanced ferroelectric and superionic materials.

The study is the result of combining atomic force microscopy and the nanofabrication of two-dimensional channels a few atomic layers thick. By extending the measurements to a frequency range from kHz to GHz, it was possible to observe an increase in the electrical response of water in the direction parallel to the channel.

These findings provide a better understanding of the properties of water and how it interacts with biological molecules, influencing their behaviour.

The resulting advances will have a significant impact not only in the fields of chemistry and biology, but also in the development of next-generation batteries and electrochemical devices.

The full study has been published in Nature.