Water in Contact with Extended Hydrophobic Surfaces: Direct Evidence of Weak Dewetting

Torben R. Jensen, Morten Østergaard Jensen, Niels Reitzel, Konstantin Balashev, Günther H. Peters, Kristian Kjaer, and Thomas Bjørnholm
Phys. Rev. Lett. 90, 086101 – Published 27 February 2003

Abstract

X-ray reflectivity measurements reveal a significant dewetting of a large hydrophobic paraffin surface floating on water. The dewetting phenomenon extends less than 15 Å into the bulk water phase and results in an integrated density deficit of about one water molecule per 2530   Å2 of water in contact with the paraffin surface. The results are supported by molecular dynamics simulations and related to the hydrophobic effect.

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  • Received 24 April 2002

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.90.086101

©2003 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Torben R. Jensen1,*, Morten Østergaard Jensen2,†, Niels Reitzel3, Konstantin Balashev3, Günther H. Peters2, Kristian Kjaer1, and Thomas Bjørnholm3,‡

  • 1Materials Research Department, Risø National Laboratory, DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark
  • 2Department of Chemistry, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Lyngby, Denmark
  • 3Nano-Science Center, Department of Chemistry, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 5, DK-2100 Ø, Denmark

  • *Present address: Department of Chemistry, University of Aarhus, DK-8000 Århus C, Denmark.
  • Present address: Quantum Protein Centre, Department of Physics, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Lyngby, Denmark.
  • Corresponding author. Email address: tb@nano.ku.dk

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Issue

Vol. 90, Iss. 8 — 28 February 2003

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