Hydrogen bonds join forces to maximise water–water interaction

Digital image of water molecules exhibiting an usually strong hydrogen bond

Source: © Alexei Kananenka/University of Delaware

Cooperative environment encourages stronger chemistry

Computational chemists in the US have modelled the strongest possible hydrogen bond for a neutral water cluster, by manipulating how adjacent bonds cooperate. The study provides an extreme benchmark for hydrogen bonds in water, but also hints at more subtle effects, such as how enzymes perturb bonds inside their substrates.