Chemistry in nanoconfined water: from H+/OH- formation and diffusion to prebiotic peptide synthesis

CIC nanoGUNE Seminars

Speaker
Daniel Muñoz-Santiburcio, Theory Group
When
2017/10/02
13:00
Place
nanoGUNE seminar room, Tolosa Hiribidea 76, Donostia - San Sebastian
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Chemistry in nanoconfined water: from H+/OH- formation and diffusion to prebiotic peptide synthesis Nanoconfined liquids, and in particular water, can present very different properties with respect to the bulk phase. In this talk, I will present recent results obtained by ab initio simulations of nanoconfined water within mineral sheets, studying processes such as the diffusion mechanism of proton and hydroxide ions [1,2], water self-dissociation [3] and extensive reaction networks leading to prebiotic peptide synthesis [4]. It will be shown that chemistry in nanoconfined water is conditioned by a subtle interplay between the sterical factors arising from the confinement in itself and the different dielectric behavior of nanoconfined water compared to bulk water. This interplay leads to dramatic changes in the reaction mechanisms and energetics when changing from the bulk regime to the nanoconfined regime. [1] D. Muñoz-Santiburcio, C. Wittekindt & D. Marx, Nat. Commun., 4, 2349 (2013) [2] D. Muñoz-Santiburcio & D. Marx, Nat. Commun., 7, 12625 (2016). [3] D. Muñoz-Santiburcio & D. Marx, Chem. Sci., 8, 3444–3452 (2017). [4] D. Muñoz-Santiburcio & D. Marx, Phys. Rev. Lett., 119, 056002 (2017). _**Daniel Muñoz-Santiburcio comes from **_ ** _Ruhr-University Bochum_** _ **and is joining nanoGUNE's Theory Group as Postdoctoral researcher**_