InterPore2026

Water Dynamics in Porous Materials: What can we learn from Quasielastic Neutron Scattering?

20 May 2026, 09:20

15m

Oral Presentation (MS13) Fluids in Nanoporous Media MS13

Speaker

Dr Denis Morineau (CNRS - Institute of Physics of Rennes)

Description

Water confined in nanoporous materials is ubiquitous in many applications related to energy and environment. This includes porous solids for water purification, solid electrolytes, membranes for proton exchange fuel cells, nanofluidic devices and desalinization technology.
Under these conditions, the structure and dynamics of water molecules is significantly altered with respect to the corresponding bulk state.1,2 This is a direct consequence of spatial restriction and liquid-surface interactions which become more prominent the smaller the pore size is. These effects obviously depend on the pore surface chemistry and the morphology (shape) of the material porosity. Interestingly, the water dynamics also depend on the length scale that is probed. For instance, different translational diffusion can be expected if it is monitored along a trajectory that is smaller than the pore size, that exceeds the diameter or even the grain size of nanoporous powder.
To resolve this problem, a multi-scale experimental approach is an asset. In the present communication, we will discuss the opportunity offered by quasielastic neutron scattering methods to characterize the dynamics of confined water at the nanoscale, that is to say for a molecular displacement equal to or less than the pore size, which can therefore be considered as a complementary tool to NMR that accesses longer scales. Our talk will be illustrated by recent studies carried out on water-filled porous silicas and organosilicas with various surface chemistry, which allowed fine tuning of the surface hydrophilicity and ionic charge and results in significant change in the liquid water local dynamics.3,4

References

1 B. Malfait, A. Jani, J. B. Mietner, R. Lefort, P. Huber, M. Fröba, and D. Morineau, J. Phys. Chem. C, 125, 16864 (2021)
2 B. Malfait, A. Moréac, A. Jani, R. Lefort, P. Huber, M. Fröba, and D. Morineau, J. Phys. Chem. C, 126, 3520 (2022)
3 A. Jani, M. Busch, J. B. Mietner, J. Ollivier, M. Appel, B. Frick, J.-M. Zanotti, A. Ghoufi, P. Huber, M. Fröba, and D. Morineau, J. Chem. Phys., 154, 094505 (2021)
4 A. Mozhdehei, P. Lenz, S. Gries, S.-M. Meinert, R. Lefort, J.-M. Zanotti, Q. Berrod, M. Appel, M. Busch, P. Huber, M. Fröba, D. Morineau J. Phys. Chem. C, 129, 18311−18324 (2025)

Acknowledgements
Funding by ANR (FIDELIO ANR-22-CE50-0002), ANR-DFG (SolutinPore ANR-23-CE29-0028) and DFG, project number 492723217 (CRC 1585) is acknowledged.