Mass-spectrometric study of a pseudo-“polywater”

✍ Scribed by B. Bouy; B. Halpern; B. Howell; L. Levenson

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1972
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 211 KB
• Volume: 13
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0009-2614
• DOI: 10.1016/0009-2614(72)85078-4

✦ Synopsis

Material resembling "anomalous water" was prepared in fused silica capillaries by the Derjaguin method. A mass-• • spectrometric study showed this material to be mainly polydimethylsfloxane, which is commonly found in silicone compounds.

De Paz et al.

[ 1 ] have found mass-spectrometr/c evidence for a silicic compound in their samples of • "polywater', [2,3]. This result was interpreted as .supporting the suggestions Of Cherkin [4] and Hildebrand [5] that "the properties of anomalous water are due to a silicic compound formed in the reaction of water vapor with freshly fused quartz" [ 1 ].

In this article, we show that a silicone compound, polydimethylsiloxane, may be found in capillaries after attempts to produce "polywater',. The most likely origin of this compound is the silicone grease used to seal the apparatus ha which ."polywater" was generated.

Our samples were produced in fused silica capillaries having inside diameters between 50 and 100 #m. These capillaries were pulled from fused Silica tubes having inside diameters of two rnm. The inside surfaces of the Silica tubes were rinsed with distilled water before the small capillaries were pulled. No other method of :cleaning was used.

Two different p~.eces of apparatus were used to generate " the polywater?like samples. One apparatus consisted o.f a Pyrex desiccator converted to a water. vapor chamber:The.lid and stopcock of this desiccator were sealed with vacuttm silicone grease. The other apparatus•consiste d of.a glass chamber contained in hollowed-out aluminum blocks. The temperature of