Percolation Threshold of Water in Ideal Binary Mixture

Abstract

Abstract Percolation transitions of water and solute molecules in an ideal completely miscible aqueous solution are studied by computer simulations. Three concentration ranges with different kinds of water and solute clustering can be distinguished. An infinite water network, present in pure liquid water, breaks at some solute concentration. Accordingly, the infinite network of solute molecules, present in pure liquid solute, breaks upon addition of water. At ambient and high temperatures, there is a concentration range were both components are below their respective percolation thresholds and there are no water or solute infinite networks. The existence of such concentration range is a characteristic of a completely miscible binary mixture. Upon supercooling, the threshold concentrations decrease and simultaneous existence of the infinite networks of water and of solute becomes possible. The presence of two inter-penetrating infinite networks of molecules may be one of the conditions required for the liquid-liquid transition of one-component isotropic fluid.