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Updated: Feb 1, 2026

A Microfluidic Approach for the Study of Ice and Clathrate Hydrate Crystallization
Published on: August 18, 2022
Temperature- and Pressure-induced Structural Transition of Binary Clathrate Hydrates
Yun-Ho Ahn1, Seungjun Baek1, Juwon Min1
1Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (BK21+Program), Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), 291 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea.
Abstract:
We discover new structure II (sII) hydrate forming agents of two C4 H8 O molecules (2-methyl-2-propen-1-ol and 2-butanone) and report the abnormal structural transition of binary C4 H8 O+CH4 hydrates between structure I (sI) and sII with varying temperature and pressure conditions. In both (2-methyl-2-propen-1-ol+CH4 ) and (2-butanone+CH4 ) systems, the phase boundary of the two different hydrate phases (sI and sII) exists at the slope change of the phase-equilibrium curve in the semi-logarithmic plots. We confirm the crystal structures of two hydrates synthesized at low (278 K and 6 MPa) and high (286 K and 15 MPa) temperature and pressure conditions by using high-resolution powder diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. 2-Methyl-2-propen-1-ol and 2-butanone can occupy the large cages of sII hydrate at low temperature and pressure conditions; however, they are excluded from the hydrate phase at high temperature and pressure conditions, resulting in the formation of pure sI CH4 hydrate.
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