Nucleation and dissociation of methane clathrate embryo at the gas-water interface.

ABSTRACT: Among natural energy resources, methane clathrate has attracted tremendous attention because of its strong relevance to current energy and environment issues. Yet little is known about how the clathrate starts to nucleate and disintegrate at the molecular level, because such microscopic processes are difficult to probe experimentally. Using surface-specific sum-frequency vibrational spectroscopy, we have studied in situ the nucleation and disintegration of methane clathrate embryos at the methane-gas-water interface under high pressure and different temperatures. Before appearance of macroscopic methane clathrate, the interfacial structure undergoes 3 stages as temperature varies, namely, dissolution of methane molecules into water interface, formation of cage-like methane-water complexes,

SUBMITTER: Liang R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6876187 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature