Proton Traffic Jam: Effect of Nanoconfinement and Acid Concentration on Proton Hopping Mechanism

The properties of the water network in concentrated HCl acid pools nanometer-sized reverse nonionic micelles were probed with TeraHertz absorption, dielectric relaxation spectroscopy, and reactive force field simulations capable describing proton hopping mechanisms. We identify that only at a critical micelle size W0=9 do solvated complexes form pool, accompanied by change mechanism from Grotthuss forward shuttling to one favors local oscillatory hopping. This is due preference for H+ Cl− ions adsorb interface, together an concentration effect causes “traffic jam” which short-circuiting hydrogen-bonding motif hydronium ion decreases rate throughout interior even as increases. These findings have implications atmospheric chemistry, biochemical biophysical environments, energy materials, transport protons vital these processes can be suppressed confinement, aggregation, and/or concentration.