Mark Johnson is a new researcher at Yale University. Over the past few decades, he has pioneered new tools for the analysis of complex chemical reactions. His most recent success does just that, with an illuminating new study that traced the pathways of protons through swarms of linked water molecules. This work, published in the top journal Science, provides new fundamental insight into how water networks respond to applied electrical charge. This often overlooked property is essential to most chemical processes on Earth.
The paper investigates a cluster of six waters bound to 4-aminobenzoic acid, which has one additional proton. Johnson’s lab recently established new record times of how quickly protons pass through these protonated water clusters. This line of research has the potential to lead to major breakthroughs in any number of scientific disciplines.
Innovations in Mass Spectrometry
At the heart of this solution is a highly specialized mass spectrometer, which Johnson’s team has iteratively and intentionally honed over the past seven years. This powerful and flexible tool allows scientists to interrogate samples repeatedly with ultra-short bursts of laser light. With it, they can track the otherwise elusive behavior of pesky protons.
Protons, for example, have proven especially hard to trace since they travel at such high speeds. They rarely remain in the same location long enough to be properly observed. The mass spectrometer specifically developed by Johnson’s team for this work has an answer. The dynamic process within the instrument is reproducible in real time. It accomplishes this by allowing protons to ‘hop’ between a chain of water molecules that serve as molecular ‘taxis’.
Abhijit Rana and Payten Harville, both Ph.D. students in chemistry, act as co-lead authors of the study with Johnson. Their contributions were key in maximizing the mass spectrometer in ways that really changed its capabilities. Now, it can incinerate and measure the source of these reactions products at a lightning fast rate of up to ten times per second.
The Role of Water Networks
The researchers’ study shows that water molecules are able to reshape themselves under the action of electrical charge. This deformation is a critical actor in many biochemical processes. Understanding how protons navigate through these intricate networks is essential for researchers looking to unlock new applications in chemistry and beyond.
Rana and his coworkers took a combinatorial approach to model a solubilizing assembly of six water molecules bound to 4-aminobenzoic acid. That setup allowed us to glean novel findings about proton mobility. It further unlocked a new approach for investigating how water dynamics change in diverse chemical surroundings.
Thien Khuu, a previous member of Johnson’s lab, now glimmers as a postdoc at University of Southern California. His vast experience as a co-author greatly enriches the study’s depth and breadth. The collaboration among these researchers illustrates the importance of teamwork in achieving groundbreaking scientific discoveries.
Implications for Future Research
Yet this study is more than an exercise in pure academic curiosity. In summary, it opens up novel avenues for future discoveries across almost all disciplines of science and engineering. Studying transient cavitation will allow researchers to get a better picture of proton dynamics inside water nanonetworks. This clearer understanding will equip them to overcome chemical transformations that are challenging today and create groundbreaking technologies.
Johnson’s work raises the bar even higher for what’s possible in this field. It paves the way for follow-up research into the complex interactions between protons and water molecules. The findings could significantly impact fields ranging from materials science to biochemistry, potentially leading to innovations that are currently unimaginable.