Freezing transition of interfacial water at room temperature under electric fields

The freezing of liquid water into ice was studied inside a gap of nanometer spacing under the control of electric fields and gap distance. The interfacial water underwent a sudden, reversible phase transition to ice in electric fields of 10(6) V m(-1) at room temperature. The critical field strength...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPhysical review letters Vol. 95; no. 8; p. 085701
Main Authors Choi, Eun-Mi, Yoon, Young-Hwan, Lee, Sangyoub, Kang, Heon
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 19.08.2005
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Summary:The freezing of liquid water into ice was studied inside a gap of nanometer spacing under the control of electric fields and gap distance. The interfacial water underwent a sudden, reversible phase transition to ice in electric fields of 10(6) V m(-1) at room temperature. The critical field strength for the freezing transition was much weaker than that theoretically predicted for alignment of water dipoles and crystallization into polar cubic ice (>10(9) V m(-1)). This new type of freezing mechanism, occurring in weak electric fields and at room temperature, may have immediate implications for ice formation in diverse natural environments.
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/physrevlett.95.085701