Ice XXI should not exist: it exists at room temperature, but only when subjected to extreme pressures.
An international team of researchers led by scientists from the Korea Institute for Standards and Science Research (KRISS) discovered a completely new phase known as ice XXI.
Ice XXI is unlike any other form of ice observed so far, notes . This ice develops when liquid water is subjected to rapid compression, creating what scientists call “super-compressed water” at room temperature. And it is metastable: it can persist for some time.
“The rapid compression of water allows it to remain liquid up to higher pressures, where it should have already crystallized into ice VI”, explains Geun Woo Lee, KRISS scientist.
Ice VI is an especially intriguing phase believed to be present within icy moons such as Titan and Ganymede, explain the authors of the paper published in Nature this month.
“The structure in which H2Which liquid crystallizes depends on the degree of supercompression of the liquid,” says Lee. “Our findings suggest that a greater number of high-temperature metastable ice phases and their associated transition pathways may exist, possibly offering new insights about the composition of icy moons“, adds Rachel Husband, from the iDESY HIBEF team.
Sakura Pascarelli, Scientific Director of the European XFEL, said: “It’s fantastic to see another great result from our Water Call, an initiative that invites scientists to propose innovative studies on water. We look forward to many more exciting discoveries in the future.”
