The Shape of Water: Wetting and Beyond

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Water is the most abundant molecule on earth, yet the shape of liquid water continues to mystify the scientific community. Classical depictions of water consist of each water molecule on an average bonded to four others in a tetrahedral motif by hydrogen bonding. To date, this structure has been the foundation for understanding wetting of surfaces, which requires a finite size liquid drop in contact with the characterizing surface to measure its contact angle. The applicant's recent pioneering work on underwater wetting dynamics of liquid drops revealed the existence of a nano-scale thin water film between the drop and the submerged characterizing surface, underscoring the importance of the interfacial water layer in wetting dynamics. The proposed research program builds upon these advances in under-liquid drop dynamics to gain new, fundamental understanding of the shape of the confined water molecules within interfacial water layers using state-of-art experimental and computational tools developed through this program. It will explore new quantum properties for such confined water molecules. This fundamental research consisting of experimental, theoretical and computational work will pave the way for a new understanding of wetting phenomena, particularly in the context of new emerging two-dimensional materials, and it could provide new insight into the quantum behaviour of confined water molecules. This would have a wide variety of engineering applications ranging from fabricating efficient water-repellant surfaces with antifouling properties (e.g., ship hulk) to membranes for water desalination (e.g., providing new source for clean water by rejecting dissolved salts) and even creating new ways of quantum computing (e.g., using water molecules at room temperature to perform computation). The research program will train eleven highly qualified personnel including post-doctoral fellows, graduate students and senior undergraduate students with a goal to create a trained workforce based on seamless integration of fundamental science with applied research in engineering. It would provide significant opportunities to develop skilled workforce in Canada's strategic priority areas (Advanced Manufacturing, Environment, and ICT). The research outcomes will provide the research community with new perspectives on wetting and the importance of interfacial water, thereby establishing a new research direction on “quantum wetting” for the applicant. This comprehensive research program will position Canada as an international leader in developing and characterizing the next-generation materials with tunable wetting properties and will propel the applicant's research group to the forefront of the wetting community.