Does Molecular Self-Association Survive in Nanochannels?
Résumé
tert-Butanol spontaneously forms supermolecular clusters in the liquid state. This phenomenon results from the balance between hydrogen(H)-bonded self-association and steric repulsion, which is ubiquitous in complex supermolecular assemblies. Neutron scattering provides direct insight into this mesoscopic order through a distinct signature (prepeak) in the structure factor. Using MCM-41 molecular sieves, we show that the spatial correlations associated with micelle-like clusters are totally suppressed in nanoconfined geometry. This is direct evidence of a considerable variation of the structure at the mescoscopic scale of an associated liquid during its manipulation in nanostructured materials and illustrates to what extent nanoconfinement affects the formation of the highly directional hydrogen-bonded systems and the properties of confined liquids in general.