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A metastable state mediates the surface disordering of ice Ih |
| Zixiang Yan(颜子翔)1, Jiani Hong(洪嘉妮)1, Ye Tian(田野)1, Tiancheng Liang(梁天成)1, Limei Xu(徐莉梅)1,2,3, and Ying Jiang(江颖)1,2,3,4,† |
1 International Center for Quantum Materials, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China;
2 Interdisciplinary Institute of Light-Element Quantum Materials and Research Center for Light-Element Advanced Materials, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China;
3 Collaborative Innovation Center of Quantum Matter, Beijing 100871, China;
4 New Cornerstone Science Laboratory, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China |
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Abstract Ice premelting, the formation of a quasi-liquid layer on ice surfaces below the bulk melting point, plays a crucial role in various processes, ranging from glacier dynamics to ice friction and surface chemistry. Despite intensive research, the microscopic structure of the premelting layer and underlying molecular mechanisms remain poorly understood. In this work, we studied the temperature- and pressure-dependent structural disordering of crystalline Ih (0001) surface near the onset of premelting on the atomic scale by qPlus-based cryogenic atomic force microscopy. The linear correlation between the density of planar local structure (PLS) and the fraction of disordered surface region showed that the PLS mediated early-stage premelting by serving as a metastable seeding state. Notably, the associated surface disordering is cooperative, extending over an area of roughly $\sim 2 $~nm$^{2}$ around a PLS. We further found a striking structural similarity between the kinetic-trapped regime below the surface crystallization temperature ($T_{\rm c}$) and the premelting-dominated regime above $ T_{\rm c}$. As the deposition pressure increased, the characteristic temperature dependence was preserved, with only $T_{\rm c}$ shifting to higher values due to kinetic effects. Finally, we proposed a surface phase diagram for ice Ih (0001) based on our experimental observations.
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Received: 19 December 2025
Revised: 04 January 2026
Accepted manuscript online: 09 January 2026
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PACS:
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68.35.Rh
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(Phase transitions and critical phenomena)
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68.37.Ps
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(Atomic force microscopy (AFM))
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68.47.-b
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(Solid-gas/vacuum interfaces: types of surfaces)
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| Fund: Project supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (Grant Nos. 2021YFA1400500 and 2025YFF1502400), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 92361302, 12250001, 12535001, and U22A20260), and the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Grant Nos. BX20230021, 2023T160011, and 2024M760068). J. H. acknowledges support from the National Program for Support of Top-notch Young professionals. Y.J. acknowledges support from Beijing Outstanding Young Scientist Program (Grant No. JWZQ20240101002) and the New Cornerstone Science Foundation through the New Cornerstone Investigator Program and the XPLORER PRIZE. |
Corresponding Authors:
Ying Jiang
E-mail: yjiang@pku.edu.cn
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Cite this article:
Zixiang Yan(颜子翔), Jiani Hong(洪嘉妮), Ye Tian(田野), Tiancheng Liang(梁天成), Limei Xu(徐莉梅), and Ying Jiang(江颖) A metastable state mediates the surface disordering of ice Ih 2026 Chin. Phys. B 35 016804
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