Abstract
Atoms and molecules 0.4 � 0.9 nm in diameter can be incorporated in the cages formed by hydrogen-bonded water molecules making up the crystalline solid clathrate hydrates. There are three structural families of these hydrates , known as sI, sII and sH, and the structure usually depends on the largest guest molecule in the hydrate. Species such as Ar, Kr, Xe and methane form sI or sII hydrate, sH is unique in that it requires both small and large cage guests for stability. All three structures, containing methane, other hydrocarbons, H2S and CO2, O2 and N2 have been found in the geosphere, with sI methane hydrate by far the most abundant. At high pressures (P > 0.7 kbar) small guests (Ar, Kr, Xe, methane) are also known to form sH hydrate with multiple occupancy of the largest cage in the hydrate. The high-pressure methane hydrate of sH has been proposed as playing a role in the outer solar system, including formation models for Titan , and yet another high pressure phase of methane has been reported , although its structure remains unknown. In this study, we report a new and unique hydrate structure that is derived from the high pressure sH hydrate of xenon. After quench recovery at ambient pressure and 77 K it shows considerable stability at low temperatures (T < 160 K) and is compositionally similar to the sI Xe clathrate starting material. This evidence of structural complexity in compositionally similar clathrate compounds indicates that thermodynamic pressure � temperature conditions may not be the only important factor in structure determination, but also the reaction path may have an important effect.
