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AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS

Hydration determines anion accumulation

Nature Chemistry volume 14, pages 8–10 (2022)Cite this article

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Why do bulky anions solubilize macromolecules in water but precipitate out the corresponding monomers? The answer lies in the differences in local water structure. Polymers have now been shown to disrupt water structure more than their monomers, leading to an accumulation of anions near the polymers that increases their solubility.

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Fig. 1: Solute hydration determines the accumulation of weakly hydrated anions and their influence on solubility.

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  1. Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Aniket U. Thosar & Amish J. Patel

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  1. Aniket U. Thosar
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  2. Amish J. Patel
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Correspondence to Amish J. Patel.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Thosar, A.U., Patel, A.J. Hydration determines anion accumulation. Nat. Chem. 14, 8–10 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-021-00864-2

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