Scientists from the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have made a major breakthrough in the study of ice by confirming the formation of pure phase cubic ice on low-temperature surfaces. Published results Nature March 29 has significant implications across a wide range from materials science to climatology.
Ice is a common substance that comes in different forms depending on the conditions in which it is formed. The most common form of ice is known as I ice.H, has a hexagonal lattice structure, but under certain conditions ice can form other structures, 20 different forms have been found so far. In the case of cubic ice known as Ice IC100 years ago it was thought to be responsible for a certain type of halo around the sun or moon. In fact, the question of whether cubic ice actually exists has long been controversial because perfectly detecting the pure ice phase has been difficult.C in many experiments.
A transitional Fe impurity (IFI) induced a zero-dependent state (ZBS). Author: Institute of Physics
In this study, the researchers used in situ cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and water vapor deposition on graphene to follow the formation of ice crystallites in real time with molecular resolution.
They found that the resulting ice was a pure ice I phase, mostly single crystal ice I.C and a small amount of ice IH. Dominant nucleation of Ice I demonstratedC on low temperature surfaces. The polymorphic diversity of ice may well explain why pure ice was not previously found by diffraction methods.
The cubic ice controversy was thus resolved based on direct real space imaging with in situ cryogenic TEM. This achievement will greatly contribute to the development of both microscopy and ice physics. This fundamental advance has important implications for our understanding of the behavior of ice formation under different conditions, which have wide applications in fields such as materials science, geology, and climatology.
Source: Port Altele
