Гигроскопия: Свойства поглощения и удержания влаги.

Phenomenon of attracting and holding water molecules
a chemical property
Hygroscopy is the phenomenon of attracting and holding water molecules via either absorption or adsorption from the surrounding environment, which is usually at normal or room temperature. If water molecules become suspended among the substance's molecules, adsorbing substances can become physically changed, e. g. changing in volume, boiling point, viscosity or some other physical characteristic or property of the substance. For example, a finely dispersed hygroscopic powder, such as a salt, may become clumpy over time due to collection of moisture from the surrounding environment. Deliquescent materials are sufficiently hygroscopic that they absorb so much water that they become liquid and form an aqueous solution. Hygroscopy is essential for many plant and animal species' attainment of hydration, nutrition, reproduction and/or seed dispersal. Biological evolution created hygroscopic solutions for water harvesting, filament tensile strength, bonding and passive motion – natural solutions being considered in future biomimetics.

The word hygroscopy (/h//aɪ/'/g//r//ɒ//s//k//ə//p//i/) uses combining forms of hygro and scopy. Unlike any other scopy word, it no longer refers to a viewing or imaging mode. It did begin that way, with the word hygroscope referring in the 1790s to measuring devices for humidity level. These hygroscopes used materials, such as certain animal hairs, that appreciably changed shape and size when they became damp. Such materials were then said to be hygroscopic because they were suitable for making a hygroscope. Eventually, the word hygroscope ceased to be used for any such instrument in modern usage, but the word hygroscopic (tending to retain moisture) lived on, and thus also hygroscopy (the ability to do so). Nowadays an instrument for measuring humidity is called a hygrometer (hygro + meter).

Early hygroscopy literature began circa 1880. Studies by Victor Jodin (Annales Agronomiques, October 1897) focused on the biological properties of hygroscopicity. He noted pea seeds, both living and dead (without germinative capacity), responded similarly to atmospheric humidity, their weight increasing or decreasing in relation to hygrometric variation. Marcellin Berthelot viewed hygroscopicity from the physical side, a physico chemical process. Berthelot's principle of reversibility, briefly that water dried from plant tissue could be restored hygroscopically, was published in "Recherches sur la desiccation des plantes et des tissues végétaux; conditions d'équilibre et de réversibilité," (Annales de Chimie et de Physique, April 1903). If a compound dissolves in water, then it is considered to be hydrophilic. Zinc chloride and calcium chloride, as well as potassium hydroxide and sodium hydroxide (and many different salts), are so hygroscopic that they readily dissolve in the water they absorb: this property is called deliquescence. Not only is sulfuric acid hygroscopic in concentrated form but its solutions are hygroscopic down to concentrations of 10% v/v or below. A hygroscopic material will tend to become damp and cakey when exposed to moist air (such as the salt inside salt shakers during humid weather). Because of their affinity for atmospheric moisture, desirable hygroscopic materials might require storage in sealed containers. Some hygroscopic materials, e. g., sea salt and sulfates, occur naturally in the atmosphere and serve as cloud seeds, cloud condensation nuclei (CCNs). Being hygroscopic, their microscopic particles provide an attractive surface for moisture vapour to condense and form droplets. Modern day human cloud seeding efforts began in 1946. When added to foods or other materials for the express purpose of maintaining moisture content, hygroscopic materials are known as humectants. Materials and compounds exhibit different hygroscopic properties, and this difference can lead to detrimental effects, such as stress concentration in composite materials. The volume of a particular material or compound is affected by ambient moisture and may be considered its coefficient of hygroscopic expansion (CHE) (also referred to as CME, or coefficient of moisture expansion) or the coefficient of hygroscopic contraction (CHC)—the difference between the two terms being a difference in sign convention. Differences in hygroscopy can be observed in plastic laminated paperback book covers—often, in a suddenly moist environment, the book cover will curl away from the rest of the book. The unlaminated side of the cover absorbs more moisture than the laminated side and increases in area, causing a stress that curls the cover toward the laminated side. This is similar to the function of a thermostat's bimetallic strip. Inexpensive dial type hygrometers make use of this principle using a coiled strip. Deliquescence is the process by which a substance absorbs moisture from the atmosphere until it dissolves in the absorbed water and forms a solution. Deliquescence occurs when the vapour pressure of the solution that is formed is less than the partial pressure of water vapour in the air. While some similar forces are at work here, it is different from capillary attraction, a process where glass or other solid substances attract water, but are not changed in the process (e. g., water molecules do not become suspended between the glass molecules).

Deliquescence, like hygroscopy, is also characterized by a strong affinity for water and tendency to absorb moisture from the atmosphere if exposed to it. Unlike hygroscopy, however, deliquescence involves absorbing sufficient water to form an aqueous solution. Most deliquescent materials are salts, including calcium chloride, magnesium chloride, zinc chloride, ferric chloride, carnallite, potassium carbonate, potassium phosphate, ferric ammonium citrate, ammonium nitrate, potassium hydroxide, and sodium hydroxide. Owing to their very high affinity for water, these substances are often used as desiccants, which is also an application for concentrated sulfuric and phosphoric acids. Some deliquescent compounds are used in the chemical industry to remove water produced by chemical reactions (see drying tube).

Hygroscopicity is a general term used to describe a material's ability to absorb moisture from the environment. There is no standard quantitative definition of hygroscopicity, so generally the qualification of hygroscopic and non hygroscopic is determined on a case by case basis. For example, pharmaceuticals that pick up more than 5% by mass, between 40 and 90% relative humidity at 25 °C, are described as hygroscopic, while materials that pick up less than 1%, under the same conditions are regarded as non hygroscopic. The amount of moisture held by hygroscopic materials is usually proportional to the relative humidity. Tables containing this information can be found in many engineering handbooks and is also available from suppliers of various materials and chemicals. Hygroscopy also plays an important role in the engineering of plastic materials. Some plastics, e. g. nylon, are hygroscopic while others are not.

Many engineering polymers are hygroscopic, including nylon, ABS, polycarbonate, cellulose, carboxymethyl cellulose, and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA, plexiglas, perspex). Other polymers, such as polyethylene and polystyrene, do not normally absorb much moisture, but are able to carry significant moisture on their surface when exposed to liquid water. Type 6 nylon (a polyamide) can absorb up to 9.5% of its weight in moisture.

The use of different substances' hygroscopic properties in baking are often used to achieve differences in moisture content and, hence, crispiness. Different varieties of sugars are used in different quantities to produce a crunchy, crisp cookie (British English: biscuit) versus a soft, chewy cake. Sugars such as honey, brown sugar, and molasses are examples of sweeteners used to create moister and chewier cakes.

Several hygroscopic approaches to harvest atmospheric moisture have been demonstrated and require further development to assess their potentials as a viable water source. Experiments with fog collection, in select environs, duplicated the hydrophilic surfaces and hygroscopic surface wetting observed in tree frog hydration (biomimicry). Subsequent material optimizations developed artificial hydrophilic surfaces with collection rates of 25 mg H2O/(cm2 h), more than twice the collection rate of tree frogs under comparable conditions, i. e. 100% RH (relative humidity). Hygroscopic glues are candidates for commercial development. The most common cause of synthetic glue failure at high humidity is attributed to water lubricating the contact area, impacting bond quality. Hygroscopic glues may allow more durable adhesive bonds by absorbing (pulling) inter facial environmental moisture away from the glue substrate boundary. Hygrometric response time, precise shape changes and durability are lacking. Most currently available hygro actuated composites are inferior and exhibit fatigue failure well before that seen in nature, e. g. in pine cone scales, indicating that a better understanding of the plants' biological structures is needed. Materials composed of fluid responsive active bilayer systems that can direct planned conformational hygromorphing are necessary. Current composites require undesirable trade offs between hygromorphic response time and mechanical stability that must also be balanced with changing environmental stimuli.