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Updated: Feb 2, 2026

The Use of High-resolution Infrared Thermography HRIT for the Study of Ice Nucleation and Ice Propagation in Plants
Published on: May 8, 2015
Ice Nucleation at the Water-Sapphire Interface: Transient Sum-Frequency Response without Evidence for Transient Ice
Ahmed Abdelmonem1, Ellen H G Backus2, Mischa Bonn2
1Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research-Atmospheric Aerosol Research (IMKAAF), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany.
Abstract:
Heterogeneous ice nucleation at the water-sapphire interface is studied using sum-frequency generation spectroscopy. We follow the response of the O-H stretch mode of interfacial water during ice nucleation as a function of time and temperature. The ice and liquid states each exhibit very distinct, largely temperature-independent responses. However, at the moment of freezing, a transient response with a significantly different intensity is observed, with a lifetime between several seconds and several minutes. The presence of this transient signal has previously been attributed to a transient phase of ice. Here, we demonstrate that the transient signal can be explained without invoking a transient ice phase, as the transient signal can simply be accounted for by a linear combination of time-dependent liquid and ice responses.
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