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Vol. 17 (2025)

Observation of Ice-Like Two-Dimensional Flakes on Self-Assembled Protein Monolayer without Nanoconfinement under Ambient Conditions

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-025-01689-1
Wuxian Peng
Key Laboratory of Organic Optoelectronics and Molecular Engineering, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, People’s Republic of China
Linbo Li
School of Physics, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China
Xiyue Bai
Key Laboratory of Organic Optoelectronics and Molecular Engineering, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, People’s Republic of China
Ping Yi
School of Physics, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China
Yu Xie
Key Laboratory of Organic Optoelectronics and Molecular Engineering, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, People’s Republic of China
Lejia Wang
School of Materials and Chemical Engineering, Ningbo University of Technology, Ningbo 315211, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China
Wei Du
Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon‑Based Functional Materials & Devices, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China
Tao Wang
Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon‑Based Functional Materials & Devices, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China
Jian‑Qiang Zhong
School of Physics, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China
Yuan Li
Key Laboratory of Organic Optoelectronics and Molecular Engineering, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, People’s Republic of China

Corresponding Author: Jian‑Qiang Zhong

zhong@hznu.edu.cn

Nano-Micro Letters, Vol. 17 (2025), Article Number: 187

Abstract

Directly correlating the morphology and composition of interfacial water is vital not only for studying water icing under critical conditions but also for understanding the role of protein–water interactions in bio-relevant systems. In this study, we present a model system to study two-dimensional (2D) water layers under ambient conditions by using self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) supporting the physisorption of the Cytochrome C (Cyt C) protein layer. We observed that the 2D island-like water layers were uniformly distributed on the SAMs as characterized by atomic force microscopy, and their composition was confirmed by nano-atomic force microscopy-infrared spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. In addition, these 2D flakes could grow under high-humidity conditions or melt upon the introduction of a heat source. The formation of these flakes is attributed to the activation energy for water desorption from the Cyt C being nearly twofold high than that from the SAMs. Our results provide a new and effective method for further understanding the water–protein interactions.


Highlights:
1 A super-hydrophilic electrode was successfully developed by depositing porous NiFe nanoparticles onto annealed TiO2 nanotubes (NiFe/ATNT), facilitating rapid outgassing of nonpolar gases.
2 The NiFe/ATNT electrode demonstrated an overpotential of 235 mV at 10 mA cm−2 for the oxygen evolution reaction in 1.0 M KOH and served as the anode in the anion exchange membrane water electrolyzer (AEMWE), achieving a current density of 1.67 A cm−2 at 1.80 V.
3 The AEMWE utilizing the NiFe/ATNT electrode exhibited remarkable stability, maintaining operation for 1500 h at 0.50 A cm−2 under challenging thermal conditions of 80 ± 3 °C.

Keywords

Self-assembled monolayers 2D ice-like water Water–protein interactions Ice phase transition
Peng, Wuxian, Linbo Li, Xiyue Bai, Ping Yi, Yu Xie, Lejia Wang, Wei Du, Tao Wang, Jian‑Qiang Zhong, and Yuan Li. 2025. “Observation of Ice-Like Two-Dimensional Flakes on Self-Assembled Protein Monolayer Without Nanoconfinement under Ambient Conditions”. Nano-Micro Letters 17 (March):187. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-025-01689-1.
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