Metastable Dihydrate of Sodium Chloride at Ambient Pressure

Sodium chloride (NaCl) plays an important role in geochemistry, biology, industry, and food production, and it is among the most common salts in the solar system. Here, we report the discovery of a metastable NaCl dihydrate formed through rapid freezing (10<sup>1</sup>-10<sup>2</sup> K s<sup>-1</sup>) of a NaCl solution at ambient pressure. Using synchrotron X-ray and neutron powder diffraction, we show that it transforms irreversibly to hydrohalite and ice Ih above 190 K upon heating and propose it is structurally related to hydrohalite with a 3 × 1 × 3 supercell as its unit cell. Calorimetric analyses reveal that the new hydrate transforms to hydrohalite with a heat release of -3.47 ± 0.55 kJ mol<sup>-1</sup>. The identification of this new NaCl dihydrate on the surfaces of icy worlds such as the moons of Jupiter and Saturn could indicate regions of recent activity where subsurface brines have frozen rapidly, priority targets for upcoming planetary missions.

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Publication Details

Journal
The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters
Published
2024-12-06
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpclett.4c02752
Citations
3
Primary Topic
Methane Hydrates and Related Phenomena
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.75

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article

Metastable Dihydrate of Sodium Chloride at Ambient Pressure

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3 citations
The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters
Methane Hydrates and Related Phenomena
0.75
article

Metastable Dihydrate of Sodium Chloride at Ambient Pressure

Peter Fawdon, Christoph G. Salzmann, Thomas F. Headen, Paul F. Henry, Mark G. Fox‐Powell, Milz Beaumont, Rachael Hamp, Hannah Chinnery, Stephen P. Thompson, Liam Perera, Zachary Amato
article en
3 citations

Abstract

Sodium chloride (NaCl) plays an important role in geochemistry, biology, industry, and food production, and it is among the most common salts in the solar system. Here, we report the discovery of a metastable NaCl dihydrate formed through rapid freezing (10<sup>1</sup>-10<sup>2</sup> K s<sup>-1</sup>) of a NaCl solution at ambient pressure. Using synchrotron X-ray and neutron powder diffraction, we show that it transforms irreversibly to hydrohalite and ice Ih above 190 K upon heating and propose it is structurally related to hydrohalite with a 3 × 1 × 3 supercell as its unit cell. Calorimetric analyses reveal that the new hydrate transforms to hydrohalite with a heat release of -3.47 ± 0.55 kJ mol<sup>-1</sup>. The identification of this new NaCl dihydrate on the surfaces of icy worlds such as the moons of Jupiter and Saturn could indicate regions of recent activity where subsurface brines have frozen rapidly, priority targets for upcoming planetary missions.

The Journal of Physical Chemistry LettersVol. 15(50)
Uppsala University (SE), Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (GB), The Open University (GB), Diamond Light Source (GB), University College London (GB)
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Science and Technology Facilities Council
Openalex Percentile: Top 29%
Methane Hydrates and Related Phenomena
0.75
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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