Producing desired ice faces.
The ability to prepare single-crystal faces has become central to developing and testing models for chemistry at interfaces, spectacularly demonstrated by heterogeneous catalysis and nanoscience. This ability has been hampered for hexagonal ice, Ih--a fundamental hydrogen-bonded surface--due to two characteristics of ice: ice does not readily cleave along a crystal lattice plane and properties of ice grown on a substrate can differ significantly from those of neat ice. This work describes laboratory-based methods both to determine the Ih crystal lattice orientation relative to a surface and to use that orientation to prepare any desired face. The work builds on previous results attaining nearly 100% yield of high-quality, single-crystal boules. With these methods, researchers can prepare authentic, single-crystal ice surfaces for numerous studies including uptake measurements, surface reactivity, and catalytic activity of this ubiquitous, fundamental solid.
['Shultz|Mary Jane|MJ|', 'Brumberg|Alexandra|A|', 'Bisson|Patrick J|PJ|http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4985-3077', 'Shultz|Ryan|R|']
ice crystal lattice ice surface atmospheric chemistry crystal faces