Abstract
AMONG the unusual physical properties of H2O, its behaviour at low temperatures and high pressures is particularly anomalous and incompletely understood1–3. Mishima et al.1,2 have shown that crystalline ice-Ih transforms at 1 GPa and 77 K to a high-density amorphous (hda) form, which exhibits unusual thermal properties. With the exception of volume displacement measurements, however, no in situ studies of this high-pressure polymorphism have yet been reported3. Using high-pressure optical and spectro-scopic techniques, we have observed directly the ice-Ih -> hda-ice transformation in a diamond-anvil cell, and have examined the stability of the amorphous form as functions of pressure and temperature. We demonstrate that hda-ice transforms abruptly at 4 GPa and 77 K to a crystalline phase close in structure to orienta-tionally disordered ice-VII and to a more highly ordered (ice-VIII-like) structure at higher temperatures. This is the first time that an amorphous solid is observed to convert to a crystalline solid at low temperatures by compression alone. The results are in excellent agreement with recent theoretical predictions4 for H2O and support the accuracy of recently developed interatomic potentials for its ordered and disordered hydrogen-bonded phases. Phase transitions of this type may be relevant on icy planetary satellites, and there may also be implications for the high-pressure behaviour of silica.
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Hemley, R., Chen, L. & Mao, H. New transformations between crystalline and amorphous ice. Nature 338, 638–640 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1038/338638a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/338638a0
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