CHEMISTRY OF WATER - 1

As we know, the new generation coffee makers -us-, from the habitat where the coffee bean is formed to all its processes; from the roasting parameters to the machines where the roasted coffee is ground, from pressure to temperature, from the espresso machine to the humidity in the environment and the barista quality, we process each stage step by step like a silkworm. The desire to always achieve better in these processes is the goal of many companies in the sector. In this case, "WATER", which makes up 98% of a cup of coffee, deserves more detailed research. Because no matter how good the bean/machine/barista is, if the water you use is not good, all efforts will be in vain. You will see the article on what is being done to make water improvements and developments in the sector, and how to reach the best water at micro and macro levels in the following sections. You may be an entrepreneur on the way to establishing your own good coffee brand, or just a coffee-loving home barista or an ordinary water enthusiast.

We guarantee that you will gain all the in-depth information about water in this blog series.

But first, in our Lab, the chemistry of everything is discussed first 😊

Here is the chemistry of water.

As a polar molecule, water interacts best with other polar molecules like itself. This is due to the fact that opposite charges attract each other: because each water molecule has both a negative and a positive side, both sides attract oppositely charged molecules. This attraction allows water to form relatively strong connections, called bonds, with other polar molecules around it, including other water molecules. In this case, the positive hydrogen of one water molecule will bond with the negative oxygen of a neighboring molecule, whose own hydrogens will be attracted to the next oxygen, and so on. More importantly, this bond allows water molecules to stick together in a property called cohesion. The cohesion of water molecules helps plants take up water through their roots.

Also, since most biological molecules have some electrical asymmetry, they are also polar, and water molecules can bond with and surround both their positive and negative regions. In the act of surrounding the polar molecules of another substance, water wriggles into all the nooks and crannies between the molecules, effectively breaking them apart and dissolving them.

Similar to polarity, some molecules are made up of ions, or oppositely charged particles. Water breaks down these ionic molecules as well, interacting with both positively and negatively charged particles. This is what happens when you put salt in water, because salt is made up of sodium (positive charge) and chloride (negative charge) ions.

Water's comprehensive ability to dissolve a variety of molecules has earned it the name "universal solvent," and it's this ability that makes water such an invaluable life-sustaining force. In small quantities, water appears colorless, but it actually has an intrinsic blue color caused by the slight absorption of light in the red wavelengths.

Much of water’s role in supporting life stems from its molecular structure and a few special properties. Water is a simple molecule, made up of two small, positively charged hydrogen atoms and one large, negatively charged oxygen atom. When the hydrogens bond to oxygen, they form an asymmetrical molecule with a positive charge on one side and a negative charge on the other. This difference in charge is called polarity and determines how water interacts with other molecules.

As everyone memorizes in the simplest way, water molecules are made up of two hydrogens and one oxygen. These atoms have different sizes and charges, which creates asymmetry in the molecular structure and leads to strong bonds between water and other polar molecules, including water itself.

Although the structure of water molecules is simple (H2O), the physical and chemical properties of the compound are extraordinarily complex and are not unique to most substances found on Earth. For example, while it is common to see ice cubes floating in a glass of ice water, such behavior is unusual for chemical entities. For almost every compound, the solid state is denser than the liquid state, so the solid sinks to the bottom of the liquid. But this is not true for water. The ability of ice to float on water is extremely important in the natural world, because the ice that forms in ponds and lakes in cold regions of the world acts as an insulating barrier that protects the aquatic life below. If the ice were denser than liquid water, the ice in a pond would sink, exposing more water to the cold temperature. The pond would eventually freeze, killing all life forms present.

The two hydrogens in the water molecule are bonded to the oxygen atom by a single chemical bond. Most hydrogen atoms have a nucleus consisting of only one proton. Two isotopic forms, deuterium and tritium, in which the atomic nucleus contains one and two neutrons respectively, are present to a small degree in water.

Although its formula (H2O) seems simple, water exhibits very complex chemical and physical properties. For example, its melting point, 0 °C (32 °F), and boiling point, 100 °C (212 °F), are much higher than would be expected when compared to similar compounds such as hydrogen sulfide and ammonia. In its solid state, ice, water is less dense than in its liquid state, another unusual property. The root of these anomalies lies in the electronic structure of the water molecule. The water molecule is not linear, but bent in a peculiar way. The two hydrogen atoms are bonded to the oxygen atom at an angle of 104.5°. structure of the water molecule showing two hydrogen atoms bonded to the oxygen atom at an angle of 104.5 degrees. The O―H distance (bond length) is 95.7 picometers (9.57 × 10−11 meters or 3.77 × 10−9 inches). Because an oxygen atom has a greater electronegativity than a hydrogen atom, the O―H bonds in the water molecule are polar, with oxygen having a partial negative charge (δ-) and hydrogens having a partial positive charge (δ+). The hydrogen atoms in water molecules are attracted to regions of high electron density and can form weak bonds with these regions, called hydrogen bonds. This means that the hydrogen atoms in a water molecule are attracted to the nonbonding electron pairs of the oxygen atom in an adjacent water molecule. The structure of liquid water is believed to consist of clusters of water molecules that are constantly forming and reforming. This short-range order explains other unusual properties of water, such as its high viscosity and surface tension. An oxygen atom has six electrons in its outer (valence) shell, which can hold a total of eight electrons. When an oxygen atom forms a single chemical bond, it shares one of its electrons with the nucleus of another atom and receives one electron from that atom in return. When bonded to two hydrogen atoms, the outer electron shell of the oxygen atom is filled. And the water molecule contains two pairs of unshared electrons. And this enormous electronic structure gives rise to hydrogen bonding. As a result of hydrogen bonds, water molecules stick together. Hydrogen bonds are very fragile in liquid water. Each hydrogen bond lasts for a trillionth of a second, and new bonds are constantly being formed between neighboring water molecules, giving life to the habitat.

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