Reorientation mediated by translational displacement

Relaxation dispersion data for water on Cab-O-Sil, which is a monodis-perse silica fine particulate, are shown in Fig. 2 (45). The data are analyzed in terms of the model summarized schematically in Fig. 3. The y process characterizes the high frequency local motions of the liquid in the surface phase and defines the high field relaxation dispersion. There is little field dependence because the local motions are rapid. The p process defines the power-law region of the relaxation dispersion in this model and characterizes the molecular reorientations mediated by translational displacements on the length scale of the order of the monomer size, or the particle size. The a process represents averaging of molecular orientations by translational displacements on the order of the particle cluster size, which is limited to the long time or low frequency end by exchange with bulk or free water. This model has been discussed in a number of contexts and extended studies have been conducted (34,41,43). 

Fig. 3. Schematic representation of the topological space of hydration water in silica fine-particle cluster (45). The processes responsible for the water spin-lattice relaxation behavior are restricted rotational diffusion about an axis normal to the local surface (y process), reorientations mediated by translational displacements on the length scale of a monomer (P process), reorientations mediated by translational displacements in the length scale of the clusters (a process), and exchange with free water as a cutoff limit.

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