Abstract
The hydrates of the heavier noble gases Ar, Kr and Xe are easy to prepare, and they crystallize in two different structures1. The corresponding hydrates of He and Ne apparently do not exist. We now find by neutron powder diffraction experiments that, when applying He gas pressures of > 0.28 GPa, a gas hydrate with the idealized formula He · 6D20 is formed. The He content varies with the applied He pressure as expected of an ideal solution behaviour with a Langmuir constant of 0.07 (1) GPa−1. The host lattice of this first well-characterized He-clathrate is very similar to ice II. The He enclathration stabilizes the ice II structural framework and hampers the formation of ice III, V and IX.
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Londono, D., Kuhs, W. & Finney, J. Enclathration of helium in ice II: the first helium hydrate. Nature 332, 141–142 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1038/332141a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/332141a0
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