Published April 12, 2024 | Version v1
Journal article

Impact of CaCl2-induced chemical pressure on the phase transition of H2O at high pressure

  • 1. Synergetic Extreme Condition User Facility, State Key Laboratory of Superhard Materials, College of Physics, Jilin University, Jilin 130012, China
  • 2. Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Notkestraße 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
  • 3. GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam, Germany

Description

Understanding the phase behavior and structural properties of salt water at high pressures is essential for understanding the dynamics and physical characteristics of icy planets. In this study, we employed high-pressure experimental and ab initio simulation techniques to investigate the impact of CaCl2 on the structure of ice VII. Our findings reveal that 1.8 mol% CaCl2 can be incorporated into the ice VII structure above 10 GPa. This CaCl2-bearing ice VII (Cb VII) exhibits a lower O-H stretching frequency in the Raman spectra as well as a reduced volume of the unit cell compared to pure ice VII. In contrast to doping ice VII with other salts such as LiCl and NaCl that leads to an increase of the ice VII to ice X transition pressure occurring at 100–150 GPa, CaCl2 doping stands out by reducing the transition pressure. It shifts the transition to a pressure of 52 GPa, which is significantly lower than the transition pressure of 80 GPa in the pure H2O ice system. This notable distinction highlights the unique influence of CaCl2 on the phase behavior of water under high pressure, and we attribute these effects to the phenomenon of chemical pressure induced by CaCl2 within the ice VII structure. Our study suggests that the presence of a modified ice VII phase, contaminated with salt and referred to as Cb VII, may influence the composition, structure, and evolution of planets.

Additional details

Identifiers

DOI
10.1103/PhysRevB.109.134108;
Crossref Funder ID
10.13039/501100012166; 10.13039/501100001809; 10.13039/501100013284;

Publishing Information

Journal Title
Physical Review B
Journal Volume
109
Journal Issue
13
Journal Page Range
10 pgs.
ISSN
1550-235X

Optional Information

Copyright
©2024 American Physical Society
Contract/Grant/Project number
2023YFF0804100; 42102030; 12074141; 12274168; 2021-TD-05; 20210402054GH; 20220101011JC
Notes
Contact Email: Corresponding author: lixinyang@jlu.edu.cn; Contact Email: Corresponding author: lifangfei@jlu.edu.cn; Contact Email: Corresponding author: zhouqiang@jlu.edu.cn; Record automatically processed
Funding organization
National Key Research and Development Program of China; National Natural Science Foundation of China; Program for Jilin University Science and Technology Innovative Research Team; Jilin Provincial Science and Technology Development Project