"Scientists have created a new phase of ice that can form at room temperature. As detailed in a new paper published in the journal Nature Materials, the new phase, dubbed XXI, requires extreme levels of pressure to form. As its name suggests, it's the twenty-first form of ice to have been identified, joining a fascinating array of other structures ranging from hexagonal and cubic to superionic, which can be found on the surface of gas and ice giants like Neptune or Uranus."
"The research is a collaboration between Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) researcher Geun Woo Lee and scientists at the European X-Ray Free-Electron Laser Facility (XFEL), the world's largest X-ray laser, and the German Electron Synchrotron (DESY) Research Center. XXI ice forms when water is rapidly compressed to extraordinary levels at room temperature. It's only stable under extremely specific conditions."
A new crystalline ice phase called XXI forms at room temperature when water is rapidly compressed to about two gigapascals of pressure. XXI requires extreme pressure and is stable only under very specific conditions. It differs from most known ice forms because many known phases form at either high or low temperatures rather than at room temperature. Rapid compression delays crystallization, allowing liquid water to persist to higher pressures and access different structural arrangements. XXI may act as an intermediary between ordinary water and ice VI, an exotic phase thought to exist inside icy moons. Formation observations used a diamond anvil cell and advanced X-ray facilities.
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