Diffusion of water in a nonporous hydrophobic crystal

Abstract

Burrowing water: The apohost phase of a substituted hydrophobic calixarene, grown by sublimation, forms lattice voids but not channels. Exposure of the crystals to liquid water results in a single-crystal-to-single-crystal phase transformation during which water molecules become embedded in the lattice voids (see picture); thus the classical view of diffusion might not be appropriate at the atomic scale. (Chemical Equation Presented) © 2005 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.</p