Formation of clathrate structures in surface layers of heavily diluted aqueous solutions

Abstract

Abstract The paper presents the results of experimental studies related to the formation of clathrate structures in highly diluted hydrophilic aqueous solutions. A method based on the interference of laser beams transmitted through a water lens of various configurations is applied. It shown that the studied solutions have properties associated with the self-organization of the structure in clathrate states due to the cooperative effect of changes in the inhomogeneous network of hydrogen bonds. It is found that in the range of small concentrations of dissolved substances in aqueous solutions, in spite of some stabilization of the structures in the formed clathrates depending on the number of interacting molecules, the formation of associates of various shapes is possible. An increase in the content of dissolved substances in aqueous solutions leads to the destruction of the ordered structure, and the excess molecules of the hydrophilic substance, combined together, form complex aggregates or their “islands”.