Webinar title: Molecular-Scale Ordered Structure of Water at Solid-Liquid-Gas Interfaces

Speaker: Chunlei Wang

Webinar time: January 6th, 2026 (Tuesday) 10:00

Venue: Room 200, New Environmental Building

Inviter: Kan Li

Abstract:

    Water molecules at interfaces often exhibit distinct behaviors from bulk water due to interfacial influences. Our studies reveal that the ordered behavior of water at solid-liquid-gas interfaces significantly impacts interfacial physical and chemical properties as well as biological functions: 1) We predicted that such ordered molecular structures of water lead to an "incompletely wetting ordered monolayer of water" on solid surfaces under ambient conditions, where water droplets coexist with a thin water layer on the solid surface. This finding helps resolve long-standing challenges in the field. 2) Biomolecules utilize the molecular-scale ordered structures of interfacial water to achieveice-regulating functions. 3) The ordered structures of interfacial water exhibit distinct terahertz absorption peaks, enabling precise modulation of solid–liquid physical properties. 4) The unique characteristics of nanobubbles at solid-liquid interfaces further underscore the importance of interfacial water structures.

About the speaker:

    Chunlei Wang, Researcher at the College of Sciences, Shanghai University. High-level young talents. He serves as a member of the Organizing Committee of The Innovation journal, a Youth Council member of the Chinese Society of Particuology, and a Council member of the Shanghai Society for Nonlinear Science. He has authored over 100 publications in journals such as PNAS, Physical Review Letters (2), Journal of the American Chemical Society (4), Nano Letters, and Chemical Science, with over 4,100 citations. His primary research focuses on the phase transition behavior of interfacial water, beginning with relatively simple and homogeneous solid material surfaces and extending to complex flexible materials and biomolecules. He places particular emphasis on the disorder-order phase transition characteristics of interfacial water induced by surface structures in these systems, as well as how such transitions actively regulate interfacial physical properties and biomolecular functions, including surface wettability, the ice nucleation effect of antifreeze proteins, and the dissolution behavior of amphiphilic molecules. His theoretical prediction of an "incompletely wetting ordered monolayer of water" at room temperature has been subsequently confirmed by experiments and theoretical studies. Additionally, some of his work has resolved long-standing debates in the field.