Crystalline Oxy-Hydroxide Domains on Cobalt Anodes as Efficient “Ice Makers” of Supercooled Water by Epitaxy

Leah Fuhrman Javitt, Hagai Cohen, Isabelle Weissbuch, David Ehre, Meir Lahav, Igor Lubomirsky

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

In search of different chemical mechanisms for electro-freezing of supercooled water (SCW), we describe here the differences between the inert electrodes of Co and Ni and their ability to be converted into ice makers. The formation of crystalline domains by anodic electrochemical treatment of cobalt in 10 μM KOH solution triggers ice nucleation of supercooled water at ∼−3 °C without the application of voltage. X-ray diffraction and XPS demonstrate that these crystalline domains are composed of oxyhydroxide molecules. As predicted by their Moiré fringes, crystals of hexagonal ice grow epitaxially on top of these domains along their [002] direction. In contrast, Ni anodes under similar electrochemical treatment do not form crystalline domains of the oxyhydroxides and therefore do not yield ice-nucleating surfaces.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)15443-15450
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Physical Chemistry C
Volume128
Issue number37
DOIs
StatePublished - 19 Sep 2024
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.

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