An unconventional bilayer ice structure on a NaCl(001) film

Ji Chen, Jing Guo, Xiangzhi Meng, Jinbo Peng, Jiming Sheng, Limei Xu, Ying Jiang (), Xin-Zheng Li () and En-Ge Wang
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Ji Chen: International Center for Quantum Materials, School of Physics, Peking University
Jing Guo: International Center for Quantum Materials, School of Physics, Peking University
Xiangzhi Meng: International Center for Quantum Materials, School of Physics, Peking University
Jinbo Peng: International Center for Quantum Materials, School of Physics, Peking University
Jiming Sheng: International Center for Quantum Materials, School of Physics, Peking University
Limei Xu: International Center for Quantum Materials, School of Physics, Peking University
Ying Jiang: International Center for Quantum Materials, School of Physics, Peking University
Xin-Zheng Li: Collaborative Innovation Center of Quantum Matter
En-Ge Wang: International Center for Quantum Materials, School of Physics, Peking University

Nature Communications, 2014, vol. 5, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: Abstract Water–solid interactions are of broad importance both in nature and technology. The hexagonal bilayer model based on the Bernal–Fowler–Pauling ice rules has been widely adopted to describe water structuring at interfaces. Using a cryogenic scanning tunnelling microscope, here we report a new type of two-dimensional ice-like bilayer structure built from cyclic water tetramers on an insulating NaCl(001) film, which is completely beyond this conventional bilayer picture. A novel bridging mechanism allows the interconnection of water tetramers to form chains, flakes and eventually a two-dimensional extended ice bilayer containing a regular array of Bjerrum D-type defects. Ab initio density functional theory calculations substantiate this bridging growth mode and reveal a striking proton-disordered ice structure. The formation of the periodic Bjerrum defects with unusually high density may have a crucial role as H donor sites in directing multilayer ice growth and in catalysing heterogeneous chemical reactions on water-coated salt surfaces.

Date: 2014
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms5056

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