Relaxation dynamics in (HF)(x)(H2O)(1-x) solutions

The high-frequency dynamics of (HF)(x)(H2O)(1-x) solutions has been investigated by inelastic x-ray scattering. The measurements have been performed as a function of the concentration in the range x=0.20-0.73 at fixed temperature T=283 K. The results have been compared with similar data in pure water (x=0) and pure hydrogen fluoride (x=1). A viscoelastic analysis of the data highlights the presence of a relaxation process characterized by a relaxation time and a strength directly related to the presence of a hydrogen-bond network in the system. The comparison with the data on water and hydrogen fluoride shows that the structural relaxation time continuously decreases at increasing concentration of hydrogen fluoride passing from the value for water to the one for hydrogen fluoride tau(alpha HF), which is three times smaller. This is the consequence of a gradual decreasing number of constraints of the hydrogen-bond networks in passing from one liquid to the other. (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics.