Observation of the most H2-dense filled ice under high pressure
Hydrogen hydrates are among the basic constituents of our solar system's outer planets, some of their moons, as well Neptune-like exo-planets. The details of their high-pressure phases and their thermodynamic conditions of formation and stability are fundamental information for establishing the presence of hydrogen hydrates in the interior of those celestial bodies, for example, against the presence of the pure components (water ice and molecular hydrogen). Here, we report a synthesis path and experimental observation, by X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy measurements, of the most H2-dense phase of hydrogen hydrate so far reported, namely the compound 3 (or C3). The detailed characterisation of this hydrogen-filled ice, based on the crystal structure of cubic ice I (ice Ic), is performed by comparing the experimental observations with first-principles calculations based on density functional theory and the stochastic self-consistent harmonic approximation. We observe that the extreme (up to 90 GPa and likely beyond) pressure stability of this hydrate phase is due to the close-packed geometry of the hydrogen molecules caged in the ice Ic skeleton.
WOS:001146713500002
2023-12-26
120
52
e2312665120
REVIEWED
EPFL
Funder | Grant Number |
Swiss National Fund (FNS) grant EXOTIC-ICES | 212889 |
CINECA | RM120172B8E7BC07 |
Vienna Scientific Cluster | IsC90-HTS-TECH |
CSCS, Piz Daint | 71754 |
Grant Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Individual Fellowship (MSCA IF) , project codename THERMOH | s1192 |
PRIN 2022 NRBLPT | |