Clusterization of Water in the Water-Oil System Adsorbed by Hydrophilic and Hydrophobic Silica in Different Media

Abstract The process of water clustering in the interparticle gaps of hydrophilic and hydrophobic silicas in different media was studied using 1H NMR spectroscopy. It has been established that equal amounts of water and oil are introduced into their interparticle gaps under the influence of mechanical load, the water transforms into a nano-sized state. A comparison of the intensities of the signals of water and oil allows us to conclude that the oil is partially frozen in chloroform. In the medium of acetone in the interparticle gaps of hydrophobic silica, the formation of several types of clusters of strongly and weakly associated water is observed, existing as spatially separated nanodroplets. It has been shown that the hydrophobic walls of silica particles have such ordering effect on clusters of water and acetone located in the interparticle gaps that a significant part of acetone turns into a solid state at temperatures (287 К), which is several tens of degrees higher than the bulk freezing temperature.