Large decrease of fluctuations for supercooled water in hydrophobic nanoconfinement

Abstract

We study by Monte Carlo simulations a coarse-grained model of a water layer confined in a fixed disordered matrix of hydrophobic nanoparticles at different particle concentrations c. For c=0 (bulk water) we find a first order liquid-liquid phase transition (LLPT). For c>0 our simulations are consistent with a LLPT line ending in two critical points at low and high pressure P. For c=25% we find a dramatic decrease of compressibility K_T, thermal expansion coefficient \alpha_P, specific heat C_P at high P and low temperature T. Surprisingly, the effect is present also for c as low as 2.4%. We conclude that the higher the confinement, the lower the thermodynamic fluctuations and the more difficult it will be to detect the LLPT.