Exclusion Zone Phenomena in Water-A Critical Review of Experimental Findings and Theories

Daniel C. Elton; Peter D. Spencer; James D. Riches; Elizabeth D. Williams

doi:10.3390/ijms21145041

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Exclusion Zone Phenomena in Water-A Critical Review of Experimental Findings and Theories

Journal article

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Exclusion Zone Phenomena in Water-A Critical Review of Experimental Findings and Theories

Daniel C. Elton, Peter D. Spencer, James D. Riches and Elizabeth D. Williams

International Journal of Molecular Sciences, Vol.21(14), pp.1-13

2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21145041

PMID: 32708867

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Abstract

water

exclusion zone

diffusiophoresis

repulsive van der Waals

The existence of the exclusion zone (EZ), a layer of water in which plastic microspheres are repelled from hydrophilic surfaces, has now been independently demonstrated by several groups. A better understanding of the mechanisms which generate EZs would help with understanding the possible importance of EZs in biology and in engineering applications such as filtration and microfluidics. Here we review the experimental evidence for EZ phenomena in water and the major theories that have been proposed. We review experimental results from birefringence, neutron radiography, nuclear magnetic resonance, and other studies. Pollack theorizes that water in the EZ exists has a different structure than bulk water, and that this accounts for the EZ. We present several alternative explanations for EZs and argue that Schurr's theory based on diffusiophoresis presents a compelling alternative explanation for the core EZ phenomenon. Among other things, Schurr's theory makes predictions about the growth of the EZ with time which have been confirmed by Florea et al. and others. We also touch on several possible confounding factors that make experimentation on EZs difficult, such as charged surface groups, dissolved solutes, and adsorbed nanobubbles.

Details

Title: Exclusion Zone Phenomena in Water-A Critical Review of Experimental Findings and Theories
Authors: Daniel C. Elton (Corresponding Author) - National Institutes of Health Clinical Center
Peter D. Spencer (Corresponding Author) - Queensland University of Technology
James D. Riches - Queensland University of Technology
Elizabeth D. Williams - Queensland University of Technology
Publication details: International Journal of Molecular Sciences, Vol.21(14), pp.1-13
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date published: 2020
DOI: 10.3390/ijms21145041
ISSN: 1422-0067
PMID: 32708867
Copyright note: © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Organisation Unit: School of Science, Technology and Engineering
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991230830302621
Output Type: Journal article

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