Enhanced Adhesivity of Water Molecules Confined in Angstrom-Scale Open Spaces Formed by Two-Dimensional Nanosheets

Angstrom-scale open spaces formed by two-dimensional (2D) nanosheets possess characteristic molecular sites as a nanosheet edge on an interior wall, which are of particular importance in view of molecular adsorption but spontaneously annihilate due to a self-assembly induced by hydration. In the present study, we succeeded in synthesizing a semitransparent silicate mineral homogeneously agglomerated with micrometer-sized particles, in which a large amount of open space with the size of A as a consequence of two-nanosheet insertion into interlayer spaces is preserved even after 1 year hydration. A dehydration enthalpy of water molecules for the present sample was found to be similar to 46% higher than that of a conventional one, evidencing that an adhesivity of water molecules confined in the 2D nanosheet-forming open spaces is enhanced compared with that in the interlayer spaces of an ordinary adsorption site.