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Journal of the Electrochemical Society, Vol.165, No.3, H114-H120, 2018
Diverging Effects of NaCl and CsCl on the Mechanical Properties of Nanoconfined Water
Using an ultra-sensitive home-built atomic force microscope, we have studied the dynamic mechanical responses of pure water, 1 M NaCl, and 1 M CsCl aqueous solutions to understand the effects of ions on the viscoelastic properties of nanoconfined (<= 1 nm) water films. In 1M NaCl, we observed peaks in the Maxwell relaxation time, indicating a solid-like, elastic response due to jamming (dynamic solidification) during squeeze-out. NaCl also extended the range of ordering of water molecules further away from the mica surface up to 4-5 molecular layers (similar to 1 nm). By contrast, in 1 M CsCl, the relaxation time peaks were suppressed, even at high compression speeds, indicating a more liquid-like, viscous response. The addition of NaCl significantly increases the probability of the nanoconfined water film to react elastically in response to compression, while 1 M CsCl decreases the probability of water layers to show an elastic response. Our measurements support the notion that Na+ acts as a kosmotrope (order enhancer) and Cs+ as a chaotrope (order destroyer), directly influencing the hydration structure of water, and altering the mechanical response of the nanoconfined liquid layers to compression and squeeze-out. (C) The Author(s) 2018. Published by ECS.