Extremely slow dynamics of a weakly wetting liquid at a solid/liquid interface:: CS2 confined in nanoporous glasses

The orientational dynamics of liquid CS2 confined in silicate nanopores have been studied over a broad range of temperatures using optical Kerr effect spectroscopy. The average orientational correlation time is found to depend strongly on the pore size:. Improvements in dynamic range of the data compared to previous studies have revealed orientational relaxation that occurs more than an order of magnitude more slowly than in bulk CS2, despite the lack of strong interactions between the liquid and the pore surfaces. By studying the pore size dependence of the relaxation, we are able to separate the contributions of energetics, hydrodynamic volume, and geometrical constraints to the retardation of dynamics at the pore surfaces.