Researchers revealed atomic-level correlated motion of water molecules at the crucial picosecond timescale to evaluate the dynamic nature of the liquid by using coherent X-ray scattering. This research could revolutionize understanding and control of liquid viscosity and conductivity for novel energy technologies, from fuels, lubricants to batteries.
Liquids are critical to our daily life and energy-related applications, but many fundamental questions remain unanswered. A major challenge is understanding the atomic-level correlated motion in liquids, which helps bridge the knowledge gap between microscopic motions in liquids and macroscopic transport properties such as viscosity and electronic conductivity. Now, split-pulse X-ray Photon Correlation Spectroscopy enables measuring atomic-level correlated motion in the pico- to nanosecond range, taking advantage of unprecedented brilliance and short pulse-duration of an X-ray free-electron laser. The nearly fully coherent X-ray beam at advanced light sources makes determination of the correlation in the speckle possible.
