More info:
Xenon, one of the ‘noble gases’ was discovered in 1893 by William Ramsay and Morris Travers who had also discovered its companions neon and krypton. Like all nobel gases, xenon finds it hard to bond with other elements and this can lead to some very interesting structures. When xenon is mixed with water and forced to crystallise (usually under high pressure and low temperatures) then the water, unable to bond with the xenon itself under these conditions, forms cages around it. Known as a ‘clathrate’ hydrate - we’re featuring the sI cubic form. This structure will change under different conditions, and the paper featured describes how this results in new water-cage structures.
More info about the International Year of the Periodic Table (IYPT) in crystals project:
This project (#IYPTCrystals) is part of the International Year of the Periodic Table celebration (#IYPT2019), read more about the project here. You can follow us on social media using #IYPTCrystals and learn more about the wonders of crystals by following the CCDC on Twitter @ccdc_cambridge on Facebook ccdc.cambridge, on Instagram ccdc_cambridge or on YouTube CCDCCambridge.
If you want to find out more about some of the terms and concepts we have a Frequently Asked Questions Page.