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Experimental observation of the liquid-liquid transition in bulk supercooled water under pressure

Journal Article · · Science
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [4];  [2];  [2];  [5];  [4];  [4];  [2];  [6];  [6];  [6];  [6];  [6];  [7] more »;  [2] « less
  1. Department of Physics, AlbaNova University Center, Stockholm University, SE-10691 Stockholm, Sweden., Department of Chemistry, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Pohang 37673, Republic of Korea.
  2. Department of Physics, AlbaNova University Center, Stockholm University, SE-10691 Stockholm, Sweden.
  3. Department of Physics, Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, Brooklyn, NY 11210, USA., Ph.D. Programs in Chemistry and Physics, The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, New York, NY 10016, USA.
  4. Department of Chemistry, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Pohang 37673, Republic of Korea.
  5. SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA., Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany.
  6. Pohang Accelerator Laboratory, Pohang, Gyeongbuk 37673, Republic of Korea.
  7. Department of Physics, St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, NS B2G 2W5, Canada.

We prepared bulk samples of supercooled liquid water under pressure by isochoric heating of high-density amorphous ice to temperatures of 205 ± 10 kelvin, using an infrared femtosecond laser. Because the sample density is preserved during the ultrafast heating, we could estimate an initial internal pressure of 2.5 to 3.5 kilobar in the high-density liquid phase. After heating, the sample expanded rapidly, and we captured the resulting decompression process with femtosecond x-ray laser pulses at different pump-probe delay times. A discontinuous structural change occurred in which low-density liquid domains appeared and grew on time scales between 20 nanoseconds to 3 microseconds, whereas crystallization occurs on time scales of 3 to 50 microseconds. The dynamics of the two processes being separated by more than one order of magnitude provides support for a liquid-liquid transition in bulk supercooled water.

Research Organization:
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
European Research Council (ERC); Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning (MSIT); National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF); Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC); Swedish Research Council (VR); USDOE; USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-76SF00515
OSTI ID:
1720202
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1779216
Journal Information:
Science, Journal Name: Science Journal Issue: 6519 Vol. 370; ISSN 0036-8075
Publisher:
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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