According to the article, researchers from the Advanced Technology Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Department of Materials Engineering at the University of Ulsan in South Korea have developed a "single-ion control techni

The researchers used a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) with atomic-level resolution to precisely control the movement of water molecules deposited on a thin salt film only 2 to 3 atomic layers thick at an extremely low temperature of -268.8°C. They observed the dissolution process of individual chloride ions in salt by manipulating the position and movement of water molecules. The researchers found that by controlling the water molecules with precision, significant differences in the interaction between sodium ions and chloride ions could be achieved. Due to its higher polarizability, chloride ions were more likely to react with water molecules, leading to selective dissolution. This discovery not only reveals the microscopic mechanism of ion dissolution but also provides possibilities for the design of new materials. The research team further explained the dynamics of sodium and chloride ion dissolution on the sodium chloride surface using systematic density functional calculations, which yielded results consistent with the experimental observations. The study demonstrates the crucial role of theoretical calculations and simulations in understanding the dynamics of processes occurring on material surfaces. The researchers p...