Revolutionary discovery: Bochum researchers decipher water structure!

Revolutionary discovery: Bochum researchers decipher water structure!

Researchers at the Ruhr University Bochum have made a significant discovery by elucidating the structure of supercritical water. Supercritical water, which occurs at extreme temperatures and pressures, exhibits unique properties that resemble both a liquid and a gas. This discovery could not only revolutionize the understanding of chemical processes, but also promote practical applications in industry. News from the Ruhr University Bochum reports that the researchers refuted a previously existing theory that proposed that water molecules were arranged in clusters and connected by hydrogen bonds.

The research team, consisting of Dr. Katja Mauelshagen, Dr. Gerhard Schwaab, Prof. Dr. Martina Havenith, Dr. Philipp Schienbein and Prof. Dr. Dominik Marx, used a combination of terahertz spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulations. This combination of methods revealed that the water molecules in supercritical water are not clustered as previously thought. These results were published on March 14, 2025 in the prestigious journal Science Advances.

Details of supercritical water

Supercritical water reaches its special shape at around 375 degrees Celsius and a pressure of 220 times normal pressure. In this state, water takes on various properties that can be divided into gas-like and liquid-like regimes. This was confirmed by information from Internet chemistry further clarified, which also point to the Widom line, which separates different states of supercritical water.

When examining these different states, the researchers were able to determine that in liquid water all molecules connect through hydrogen bonds, while in supercritical water isolated clusters without such connections form. These differences in cluster formation and hydrogen bond structure are crucial for understanding the physical properties of water in different states.

Applications and meaning

The importance of research goes beyond academic findings. Supercritical water is increasingly being used as an environmentally friendly solvent in industry. This application could potentially revolutionize many areas of the chemical industry. The simulations carried out at the Leibniz Computing Center in Munich support the results and shed light on the importance of the hydrogen bond structure in the supercritical state. This work was also funded by the German Research Foundation and is part of the Ruhr Explores Solvation (RESOLV) Cluster of Excellence.

The discovery and technologies that led to this research offer exciting prospects for future applications and deeper insights into the properties of water in its supercritical form.