Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 6, 2026

Measuring the Densities of Aqueous Glasses at Cryogenic Temperatures
Published on: June 28, 2017
Cubic ice can be formed directly in the water phase of vitrified aqueous solutions
Kazuhito Kajiwara1, Pariya Thanatuksom, Norio Murase
1School of Bionics, Tokyo University of Technology, 1404-1 Katakura, Hachioji, Tokyo, Japan.
Abstract:
This study addresses the possibility that ice-Ic may form spontaneously and directly during the cooling of previously freeze-concentrated aqueous solutions, at temperatures where the residual unfrozen water is likely to exist in small, isolated domains. It is shown that on cooling a dilute aqueous glucose solution, ice-Ih crystallises initially, but when the solution has been freeze-concentrated to ca.10 mol %, further cooling results in the slow nucleation and growth of ice-Ic in the residual water domains, rather than on the pre-existing ice-Ih crystal surfaces.
Related Concept Videos
Phase Transitions: Melting and Freezing
States of Water
Water freezes when the intermolecular forces are greater than the kinetic energy. Unlike most other substances, water is less dense in its solid state than in its liquid state. This is because each water molecule can form...
Recrystallization: Solid–Solution Equilibria
Phase Transitions: Sublimation and Deposition
Sublimation
Crystal Growth: Principles of Crystallization
Initiating crystallization involves manipulating the concentration of the solute and the temperature of the solution. Since crystal growth occurs when the ratio of concentration and solubility of the solute in the solvent – the...

