Observing growth and interfacial dynamics of nanocrystalline ice in thin amorphous ice films

Minyoung Lee, Sang Yup Lee, Min-Ho Kang, Tae Kyung Won, Sungsu Kang, Joodeok Kim, Jungwon Park () and Dong June Ahn ()
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Minyoung Lee: Seoul National University
Sang Yup Lee: Korea University
Min-Ho Kang: The Catholic University of Korea
Tae Kyung Won: Korea University
Sungsu Kang: Seoul National University
Joodeok Kim: Seoul National University
Jungwon Park: Seoul National University
Dong June Ahn: Korea University

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Abstract Ice crystals at low temperatures exhibit structural polymorphs including hexagonal ice, cubic ice, or a hetero-crystalline mixture of the two phases. Despite the significant implications of structure-dependent roles of ice, mechanisms behind the growths of each polymorph have been difficult to access quantitatively. Using in-situ cryo-electron microscopy and computational ice-dynamics simulations, we directly observe crystalline ice growth in an amorphous ice film of nanoscale thickness, which exhibits three-dimensional ice nucleation and subsequent two-dimensional ice growth. We reveal that nanoscale ice crystals exhibit polymorph-dependent growth kinetics, while hetero-crystalline ice exhibits anisotropic growth, with accelerated growth occurring at the prismatic planes. Fast-growing facets are associated with low-density interfaces that possess higher surface energy, driving tetrahedral ordering of interfacial H2O molecules and accelerating ice growth. These findings, based on nanoscale observations, improve our understanding on early stages of ice formation and mechanistic roles of the ice interface.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45234-x

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