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Scientists have directly observed a new phase of water ice, called ice XVIII, in which oxygen atoms form a crystalline lattice while hydrogen ions move through it like a liquid. The result, reported by Marius Millot, Federica Coppari and colleagues in Nature in 2019, is the first microscopic structural confirmation of superionic water ice.
The phase existed only for nanoseconds in a laser-driven shock experiment at 100–400 gigapascals and 2,000–3,000 kelvin. Its extreme pressure and temperature resemble conditions deep inside Uranus, Neptune and other water-rich ice giants.
What ice XVIII is
Superionic ice combines properties normally associated with different states of matter. The oxygen ions are locked into a solid, ordered crystal, while the much lighter hydrogen ions—or protons—diffuse through that framework in a liquid-like manner. Millot and colleagues describe it as “with liquid-like protons diffusing through the solid lattice of oxygen.”
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Ice XVIII has a face-centred-cubic (FCC) oxygen lattice. It is not ordinary surface ice, and it cannot exist at everyday pressure and temperature. The name identifies a high-pressure phase among the many crystalline forms of water ice.
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How the researchers made and identified it
- Start with liquid water. The experiment used a tiny water sample inside a high-pressure target.
- Drive a shock wave. Powerful lasers generated shock compression that rapidly raised the sample to 100–400 gigapascals and 2,000–3,000 kelvin.
- Capture the transient state. Under those conditions, the water solidified within a few nanoseconds into ice grains only nanometres across.
- Probe the structure in place. In-situ, nanosecond X-ray diffraction recorded the arrangement of oxygen atoms while the phase existed.
The diffraction pattern showed a transition from a body-centred-cubic structure, probably ice X, to the face-centred-cubic structure assigned to superionic ice XVIII. That crystalline oxygen signature supplied the direct structural evidence that earlier optical experiments could not provide.
Why the 2019 result was different from the earlier evidence
A 2018 shock-compression study had already found experimental signs of superionic conduction in water ice VII. Optical measurements indicated that the sample became unusually conductive and showed melting-related signatures, but they did not reveal the microscopic crystal arrangement.
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| Result | Evidence type | Oxygen structure | What it established |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 shock-compression work | Optical and conductivity signatures | Ice VII starting material; structure not directly resolved for the superionic state | Evidence that protons could conduct through compressed ice |
| 2019 Millot–Coppari experiment | In-situ nanosecond X-ray diffraction | Face-centred-cubic lattice identified as ice XVIII, following a body-centred-cubic phase | Direct microscopic confirmation of the crystalline oxygen framework |
The distinction matters: the X-ray experiment directly measured the oxygen lattice, while the predicted proton transport and the earlier electrical signatures explain why that lattice is classified as superionic.
The key numbers and what they mean
| Quantity | Reported value | Qualification |
|---|---|---|
| Pressure | 100–400 gigapascals | Range reached in the 2019 laser-shock experiment |
| Temperature | 2,000–3,000 kelvin | Range reached during the same transient experiment |
| Formation time | A few nanoseconds | Time in which water solidified into nanometre-scale grains |
| Predicted ionic conductivity | Above 100 siemens per centimetre | Simulation-based prediction summarized by the 2019 paper, not a direct conductivity measurement from its X-ray shot |
| Previously documented crystalline ice structures | More than 17 | Count cited by the 2019 paper before ice XVIII was identified |
Why ice XVIII matters for ice-giant planets
The laboratory pressure-temperature range overlaps conditions expected inside Uranus and Neptune. The Laboratory for Laser Energetics describes related diamond-compression and OMEGA-laser experiments as reaching pressures above one million times Earth’s atmospheric pressure, a regime relevant to modeling those planets’ interiors.
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Water is thought to be a major component of the deep layers of so-called ice giants. If superionic ice forms there, its solid oxygen framework and mobile protons could influence how heat and electrical charge move through the planet. Those transport properties are important inputs for models of interior convection, magnetic-field generation and long-term thermal evolution.
The observation therefore does more than add another entry to the catalogue of ice phases. It gives planetary scientists a measured crystal structure to use when testing high-pressure models of water-rich worlds and exoplanets with similar interiors.
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What the experiment does—and does not—show
- It does show an oxygen lattice with the face-centred-cubic structure expected for ice XVIII, formed under extreme pressure and temperature.
- It supports the picture of liquid-like proton motion through that lattice, consistent with earlier conductivity evidence and theoretical calculations.
- It does not mean that superionic ice can be produced or preserved under normal terrestrial conditions; the phase was created fleetingly in a specialized shock-compression setup.
- It does not make the 100-siemens-per-centimetre figure a direct measurement; that value is a prediction from simulations summarized in the paper.
Because the sample lasted only nanoseconds and consisted of nanometre-sized grains, the achievement depended on synchronizing laser shocks and X-ray pulses with extreme precision. The result closes a major experimental gap, while further work is still needed to map the exact stability boundaries and transport behavior of the phase across broader planetary conditions.
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