First firm evidence for ferroelectric ice

By Rachel Brazil2021-11-18T14:30:00

An image showing a hexagonal grey grid (representing graphene) overlaid with red-and-white ball-and-stick structures representing water molecules

Source: © Hao-Ting Chin et al 2021

Water becomes electrically polarised when sandwiched between graphene sheets

Scientists have for the first time unambiguously observed ferroelectric water – a state in which the molecules’ dipoles become ordered and the material gains electric polarisation – in an atom-thin ice layer sandwiched between graphene sheets.