Sudden switchover between the polyamorphic phase separation and the glass-to-liquid transition in glassy LiCl aqueous solutions

Direct observation of reversible liquid-liquid transition in a trehalose aqueous solution

Recent studies on liquid water suggest that the two liquid waters exist in the supercooled temperature region and that their existence relates to the anomalous behavior of low-temperature liquid water such as the maximum density at 4 °C. However, the experimental investigation of two liquid waters is difficult because of the rapid crystallization. In this study, a reversible liquid–liquid transition in a trehalose aqueous solution by the change in pressure was observed directly. This result suggests strongly that two liquid waters exist in the aqueous solution. This study has implications for wide fields related to liquid water, such as solution chemistry, cryobiology, meteorology, and food engineering.

Water forms two glassy waters, low-density and high-density amorphs, which undergo a reversible polyamorphic transition with the change in pressure. The two glassy waters transform into the different liquids, low-density liquid (LDL) and high-density liquid (HDL), at high temperatures. It is predicted that the two liquid waters also undergo a liquid–liquid transition (LLT). However, the reversible LLT, particularly the LDL-to-HDL transition, has not been observed directly due to rapid crystallization. Here, I prepared a glassy dilute trehalose aqueous solution (0.020 molar fraction) without segregation and measured the isothermal volume change at 0.01 to 1.00 GPa below 160 K. The polyamorphic transition and the glass-to-liquid transition for the high-density and low-density solutions were examined, and the liquid region where both LDL and HDL existed was determined. The results show that the reversible polyamorphic transition induced by the pressure change above 140 K is the LLT. That is, the transition from LDL to HDL is observed. Moreover, the pressure hysteresis of LLT suggests strongly that the LLT has a first-order nature. The direct observation of the reversible LLT in the trehalose aqueous solution has implications for understanding not only the liquid–liquid critical point hypothesis of pure water but also the relation between aqueous solution and water polyamorphism.

Transformation process of ice crystallized from a glassy dilute trehalose aqueous solution

Crystal growth of ice Isd occurring after crystallization of a glassy dilute trehalose aqueous solution is slower than that of ice Isd in a dilute glycerol solution and pure ice Isd, and ice Isd in trehalose aqueous solution survives to ∼230 K.

Advances in the study of supercooled water

In this review, we report recent progress in the field of supercooled water. Due to its uniqueness, water presents numerous anomalies with respect to most simple liquids, showing polyamorphism both in the liquid and in the glassy state. We first describe the thermodynamic scenarios hypothesized for the supercooled region and in particular among them the liquid-liquid critical point scenario that has so far received more experimental evidence. We then review the most recent structural indicators, the two-state model picture of water, and the importance of cooperative effects related to the fact that water is a hydrogen-bonded network liquid. We show throughout the review that water's peculiar properties come into play also when water is in solution, confined, and close to biological molecules. Concerning dynamics, upon mild supercooling water behaves as a fragile glass former following the mode coupling theory, and it turns into a strong glass former upon further cooling. Connections between the slow dynamics and the thermodynamics are discussed. The translational relaxation times of density fluctuations show in fact the fragile-to-strong crossover connected to the thermodynamics arising from the existence of two liquids. When considering also rotations, additional crossovers come to play. Mobility-viscosity decoupling is also discussed in supercooled water and aqueous solutions. Finally, the polyamorphism of glassy water is considered through experimental and simulation results both in bulk and in salty aqueous solutions. Grains and grain boundaries are also discussed.

Absence of the liquid-liquid phase transition in aqueous ionic liquids

The anomalies of supercooled water may be explained by an underlying liquid-liquid phase transition (LLPT) between high- and low-density states. Recently, its observation at 185 K was inferred using solutions containing aqueous ionic liquids at a solute mole fraction of x=0.156 [Woutersen et al., Science 359, 1127 (2018)10.1126/science.aao7049]. We employ x-ray diffraction, calorimetry, and dilatometry on these hydrazinium trifluoroacetate solutions at x=0.00-0.40 to show that the transition at 185 K is not related to a genuine LLPT of water. Continuous densification upon compression, continuous changes of halo position, and absence of thermal signatures for a high- to low-density transition rule out the possibility of an LLPT for x≥0.13. The data show that employing sophisticated solutions adds a layer of complexity that hampers extrapolation of the LLPT concept from one- to two-component systems. The possibility of an LLPT can only be probed for pure water or sufficiently dilute aqueous solutions.

Experimental observation of nanophase segregation in aqueous salt solutions around the predicted liquid-liquid transition in water

The liquid-liquid transition in supercooled liquid water, predicted to occur around 220 K, is controversial due to the difficulty of studying it caused by competition from ice crystallization (the so-called "no man's land"). In aqueous solutions, it has been predicted to give rise to phase separation on a nanometer scale between a solute-rich high-density phase and a water-rich low-density phase. Here we report direct experimental evidence for the formation of a nanosegregated phase in eutectic aqueous solutions of LiCl and LiSCN where the presence of crystalline water can be experimentally excluded. Femtosecond infrared and Raman spectroscopies are used to determine the temperature-dependent structuring of water, the solvation of the SCN^- anion, and the size of the phase segregated domains.

Glass polymorphism and liquid-liquid phase transition in aqueous solutions: experiments and computer simulations

One of the most intriguing anomalies of water is its ability to exist as distinct amorphous ice forms (glass polymorphism or polyamorphism). This resonates well with the possible first-order liquid-liquid phase transition (LLPT) in the supercooled state, where ice is the stable phase. In this Perspective, we review experiments and computer simulations that search for LLPT and polyamorphism in aqueous solutions containing salts and alcohols. Most studies on ionic solutes are devoted to NaCl and LiCl; studies on alcohols have mainly focused on glycerol. Less attention has been paid to protein solutions and hydrophobic solutes, even though they reveal promising avenues. While all solutions show polyamorphism and an LLPT only in dilute, sub-eutectic mixtures, there are differences regarding the nature of the transition. Isocompositional transitions for varying mole fractions are observed in alcohol but not in ionic solutions. This is because water can surround alcohol molecules either in a low- or high-density configuration whereas for ionic solutes, the water ion hydration shell is forced into high-density structures. Consequently, the polyamorphic transition and the LLPT are prevented near the ions, but take place in patches of water within the solutions. We highlight discrepancies and different interpretations within the experimental community as well as the key challenges that need consideration when comparing experiments and simulations. We point out where reinterpretation of past studies helps to draw a unified, consistent picture. In addition to the literature review, we provide original experimental results. A list of eleven open questions that need further consideration is identified.

Effect of solute nature on the polyamorphic transition in glassy polyol aqueous solutions

I examined the polyamorphic behavior of glassy dilute aqueous solutions of polyols (ethylene glycol, glycerol, meso-erythritol, xylitol, and D-sorbitol) under pressure at low temperatures. Although the volume change of the glassy aqueous solution varied continuously against pressure, the rate of the volume change appeared to vary discontinuously at the onset pressure of the gradual polyamorphic transition. It is thought that low-density liquid-like solvent water and high-density liquid-like solvent water coexist during the transition. Moreover, the existence of a solute induces the shift of polyamorphic transition to the lower-pressure side. The effect of a solute on the polyamorphic transition becomes larger in the order ethylene glycol, glycerol, meso-erythritol, xylitol, and D-sorbitol. Therefore, the solute can become a variable controlling the polyamorphic state of liquid water. This experimental result suggests that the metastable-equilibrium phase boundary between the low-density and the high-density amorphs for pure water is likely to be located at 0.22-0.23 GPa at about 150 K, which is slightly larger than the previously estimated pressure. Moreover, the solute-nature dependence on the polyamorphic transition seems to connect to that on the homogeneous nucleation temperature of polyol aqueous solution at ambient pressure. The region in which a low-density liquid appears coincides with the region in which the nucleus of ice Ih appears, suggesting that the formation of a low-density liquid is a precursory phenomenon of the nucleation of ice Ih.

Glass polymorphism in glycerol-water mixtures: II. Experimental studies

We here study pressure-induced amorphization and polyamorphic transitions in frozen bulk glycerol–water solutions experimentally.

We report a detailed experimental study of (i) pressure-induced transformations in glycerol–water mixtures at T = 77 K and P = 0–1.8 GPa, and (ii) heating-induced transformations of glycerol–water mixtures recovered at 1 atm and T = 77 K. Our samples are prepared by cooling the solutions at ambient pressure at various cooling rates (100 K s^–1–10 K h^–1) and for the whole range of glycerol mole fractions, χ_g. Depending on concentration and cooling rates, cooling leads to samples containing amorphous ice (χ_g ≥ 0.20), ice (χ_g ≤ 0.32), and/or “distorted ice” (0 < χ_g ≤ 0.38). Upon compression, we find that (a) fully vitrified samples at χ_g ≥ 0.20 do not show glass polymorphism, in agreement with previous works; (b) samples containing ice show pressure-induced amorphization (PIA) leading to the formation of high-density amorphous ice (HDA). PIA of ice domains within the glycerol–water mixtures is shown to be possible only up to χ_g ≈ 0.32 (T = 77 K). This is rather surprising since it has been known that at χ_g < 0.38, cooling leads to phase-separated samples with ice and maximally freeze-concentrated solution of χ_g ≈ 0.38. Accordingly, in the range 0.32 < χ_g < 0.38, we suggest that the water domains freeze into an interfacial ice, i.e., a highly-distorted form of layered ice, which is unable to transform to HDA upon compression. Upon heating samples recovered at 1 atm, we observe a rich phase behavior. Differential scanning calorimetry indicates that only at χ_g ≤ 0.15, the water domains within the sample exhibit polyamorphism, i.e., the HDA-to-LDA (low-density amorphous ice) transformation. At 0.15 < χ_g ≤ 0.38, samples contain ice, interfacial ice, and/or HDA domains. All samples (χ_g ≤ 0.38) show: the crystallization of amorphous ice domains, followed by the glass transition of the vitrified glycerol–water domains and, finally, the melting of ice at high temperatures. Our work exemplifies the complex “phase” behavior of glassy binary mixtures due to phase-separation (ice formation) and polyamorphism, and the relevance of sample preparation, concentration as well as cooling rates. The presence of the distorted ice (called “interphase” by us) also explains the debated “drift anomaly” upon melting. These results are compatible with the high-pressure study by Suzuki and Mishima indicating disappearance of polyamorphism at P ≈ 0.03–0.05 GPa at χ_g ≈ 0.12–0.15 [J. Chem. Phys., 2014, 141, 094505].

Effect of water polyamorphism on the molecular vibrations of glycerol in its glassy aqueous solutions

A glassy dilute glycerol-water solution undergoes a mutual polyamorphic transition relating to the transition between high- and low-density amorphous ices of solvent water. The polyamorphic transition behavior depends on the glycerol concentration, indicating that the glycerol affects the water polyamorphism. Here, we used the glassy dilute glycerol-water solution of the solute molar fraction of 0.07 and examined the effect of the polyamorphic change in solvent water on the molecular vibrations of glycerol via Raman spectroscopy. It is found that the molecular vibration of glycerol in high-density liquid like solvent water is different from that in the low-density liquid like solvent water and that the change in the molecular vibration of glycerol is synchronized with the polyamorphic transition of solvent water. The dynamical change of the solute molecule relates to the polyamorphic state of solvent water. This result suggests that the polyamorphic fluctuation of water structure emanated from the presumed liquid-liquid critical point plays an important role for the function of aqueous solution under an ambient condition such as the conformational stability of solute, the functional expression of solute, and so on.

Water: A Tale of Two Liquids

Water is the most abundant liquid on earth and also the substance with the largest number of anomalies in its properties. It is a prerequisite for life and as such a most important subject of current research in chemical physics and physical chemistry. In spite of its simplicity as a liquid, it has an enormously rich phase diagram where different types of ices, amorphous phases, and anomalies disclose a path that points to unique thermodynamics of its supercooled liquid state that still hides many unraveled secrets. In this review we describe the behavior of water in the regime from ambient conditions to the deeply supercooled region. The review describes simulations and experiments on this anomalous liquid. Several scenarios have been proposed to explain the anomalous properties that become strongly enhanced in the supercooled region. Among those, the second critical-point scenario has been investigated extensively, and at present most experimental evidence point to this scenario. Starting from very low temperatures, a coexistence line between a high-density amorphous phase and a low-density amorphous phase would continue in a coexistence line between a high-density and a low-density liquid phase terminating in a liquid–liquid critical point, LLCP. On approaching this LLCP from the one-phase region, a crossover in thermodynamics and dynamics can be found. This is discussed based on a picture of a temperature-dependent balance between a high-density liquid and a low-density liquid favored by, respectively, entropy and enthalpy, leading to a consistent picture of the thermodynamics of bulk water. Ice nucleation is also discussed, since this is what severely impedes experimental investigation of the vicinity of the proposed LLCP. Experimental investigation of stretched water, i.e., water at negative pressure, gives access to a different regime of the complex water diagram. Different ways to inhibit crystallization through confinement and aqueous solutions are discussed through results from experiments and simulations using the most sophisticated and advanced techniques. These findings represent tiles of a global picture that still needs to be completed. Some of the possible experimental lines of research that are essential to complete this picture are explored.

Glass polymorphism in glycerol-water mixtures: I. A computer simulation study

We perform out-of-equilibrium molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of water-glycerol mixtures in the glass state. Specifically, we study the transformations between low-density (LDA) and high-density amorphous (HDA) forms of these mixtures induced by compression/decompression at constant temperature. Our MD simulations reproduce qualitatively the density changes observed in experiments. Specifically, the LDA-HDA transformation becomes (i) smoother and (ii) the hysteresis in a compression/decompression cycle decreases as T and/or glycerol content increase. This is surprising given the fast compression/decompression rates (relative to experiments) accessible in MD simulations. We study mixtures with glycerol molar concentration χ(g) = 0-13% and find that, for the present mixture models and rates, the LDA-HDA transformation is detectable up to χ(g) ≈ 5%. As the concentration increases, the density of the starting glass (i.e., LDA at approximately χ(g) ≤ 5%) rapidly increases while, instead, the density of HDA remains practically constant. Accordingly, the LDA state and hence glass polymorphism become inaccessible for glassy mixtures with approximately χ(g) > 5%. We present an analysis of the molecular-level changes underlying the LDA-HDA transformation. As observed in pure glassy water, during the LDA-to-HDA transformation, water molecules within the mixture approach each other, moving from the second to the first hydration shell and filling the first interstitial shell of water molecules. Interestingly, similar changes also occur around glycerol OH groups. It follows that glycerol OH groups contribute to the density increase during the LDA-HDA transformation. An analysis of the hydrogen bond (HB)-network of the mixtures shows that the LDA-HDA transformation is accompanied by minor changes in the number of HBs of water and glycerol. Instead, large changes in glycerol and water coordination numbers occur. We also perform a detailed analysis of the effects that the glycerol force field (FF) has on our results. By comparing MD simulations using two different glycerol models, we find that glycerol conformations indeed depend on the FF employed. Yet, the thermodynamic and microscopic mechanisms accompanying the LDA-HDA transformation and hence, our main results, do not. This work is accompanied by an experimental report where we study the glass polymorphism in glycerol-water mixtures prepared by isobaric cooling at 1 bar.

Pressure-induced transformations in LiCl-H2O at 77 K

A systematic study of the properties of high-density amorphous ice (HDA) in the presence of increasing amounts of salt is missing, especially because it is challenging to avoid ice crystallization upon cooling the pressurized liquid. In order to be able to study HDA also in the presence of small amounts of salt, we have investigated the transformation behaviour of quenched aqueous LiCl solutions (mole fraction x < 0.25) upon pressurization in a piston-cylinder setup at 77 K. The sample properties were characterized by in situ dilatometry under high pressure conditions and after recovery by ex situ powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) at ambient pressure. Two regimes can be identified, with a rather sharp switch at about x = 0.12. At x < 0.12 the samples show the phenomenology also known for pure water samples. They are composed mainly of hexagonal ice (Ih) and experience pressure-induced amorphization to HDA at P > 1 GPa. The observed densification is consistent with the idea that a freeze concentrated LiCl solution of x = 0.14 (R = 6) segregates, which transforms to the glassy state upon cooling, and that the densification is only due to the Ih → HDA transition. Also the XRD patterns and DSC scans are almost unaffected by the presence of the segregated glassy LiCl solution. Upon heating at ambient pressure HDA experiences the polyamorphic transition to low-density amorphous ice (LDA) at ∼120 K, even at x ∼ 0.10. Based on the latent heat evolved in the transition we suggest that almost all water in the sample transforms to an LDA-like state, even the water in the vicinity of the ions. The glassy LiCl solution acts as a spectator that does not shift the transformation temperature significantly and experiences a glass-to-liquid transition at ∼140 K prior to the crystallization to cubic ice. By contrast, at x > 0.12 the phenomenology completely changes and is now dominated by the salt. Hexagonal ice no longer forms upon quenching the LiCl solution, but instead LDA forms. A broad pressure-induced transformation at >0.6 GPa can be attributed to the densification of LDA, the glassy LiCl solution and/or glassy hydrates.