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Spectroscopic evidence for a gold-coloured metallic water solution

Author

Listed:
  • Philip E. Mason

    (Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences)

  • H. Christian Schewe

    (Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences
    Molecular Physics, Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft)

  • Tillmann Buttersack

    (Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences
    Molecular Physics, Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
    University of Southern California)

  • Vojtech Kostal

    (Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences)

  • Marco Vitek

    (Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences)

  • Ryan S. McMullen

    (University of Southern California)

  • Hebatallah Ali

    (Molecular Physics, Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
    Ain Shams University)

  • Florian Trinter

    (Molecular Physics, Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
    Photon Science, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY)
    Goethe-Universität Frankfurt)

  • Chin Lee

    (Molecular Physics, Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
    University of California
    Chemical Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)

  • Daniel M. Neumark

    (University of California
    Chemical Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)

  • Stephan Thürmer

    (Kyoto University)

  • Robert Seidel

    (Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie
    Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin)

  • Bernd Winter

    (Molecular Physics, Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft)

  • Stephen E. Bradforth

    (University of Southern California)

  • Pavel Jungwirth

    (Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences)

Abstract

Insulating materials can in principle be made metallic by applying pressure. In the case of pure water, this is estimated1 to require a pressure of 48 megabar, which is beyond current experimental capabilities and may only exist in the interior of large planets or stars2–4. Indeed, recent estimates and experiments indicate that water at pressures accessible in the laboratory will at best be superionic with high protonic conductivity5, but not metallic with conductive electrons1. Here we show that a metallic water solution can be prepared by massive doping with electrons upon reacting water with alkali metals. Although analogous metallic solutions of liquid ammonia with high concentrations of solvated electrons have long been known and characterized6–9, the explosive interaction between alkali metals and water10,11 has so far only permitted the preparation of aqueous solutions with low, submetallic electron concentrations12–14. We found that the explosive behaviour of the water–alkali metal reaction can be suppressed by adsorbing water vapour at a low pressure of about 10−4 millibar onto liquid sodium–potassium alloy drops ejected into a vacuum chamber. This set-up leads to the formation of a transient gold-coloured layer of a metallic water solution covering the metal alloy drops. The metallic character of this layer, doped with around 5 × 1021 electrons per cubic centimetre, is confirmed using optical reflection and synchrotron X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies.

Suggested Citation

  • Philip E. Mason & H. Christian Schewe & Tillmann Buttersack & Vojtech Kostal & Marco Vitek & Ryan S. McMullen & Hebatallah Ali & Florian Trinter & Chin Lee & Daniel M. Neumark & Stephan Thürmer & Robe, 2021. "Spectroscopic evidence for a gold-coloured metallic water solution," Nature, Nature, vol. 595(7869), pages 673-676, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:595:y:2021:i:7869:d:10.1038_s41586-021-03646-5
    DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03646-5
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    Cited by:

    1. Rémi Dupuy & Tillmann Buttersack & Florian Trinter & Clemens Richter & Shirin Gholami & Olle Björneholm & Uwe Hergenhahn & Bernd Winter & Hendrik Bluhm, 2024. "The solvation shell probed by resonant intermolecular Coulombic decay," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-8, December.
    2. Luyao Zheng & Amin Nozariasbmarz & Yuchen Hou & Jungjin Yoon & Wenjie Li & Yu Zhang & Haodong Wu & Dong Yang & Tao Ye & Mohan Sanghadasa & Ke Wang & Bed Poudel & Shashank Priya & Kai Wang, 2022. "A universal all-solid synthesis for high throughput production of halide perovskite," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-13, December.
    3. Georgy A. Ermolaev & Kirill V. Voronin & Adilet N. Toksumakov & Dmitriy V. Grudinin & Ilia M. Fradkin & Arslan Mazitov & Aleksandr S. Slavich & Mikhail K. Tatmyshevskiy & Dmitry I. Yakubovsky & Valent, 2024. "Wandering principal optical axes in van der Waals triclinic materials," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-8, December.

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