On a new nitrogen sX hydrate from ice XVII

Recently, a new gas hydrate structure has been discovered. This structure, sX, is unique in a sense that it is so far the only gas hydrate with chiral channels. It is formed by hydrogen-water or carbon dioxide-water mixtures at pressures above 0.300 GPa, and it has been shown that it is the only clathrate hydrate that is refillable with hydrogen. This property makes it a possible storage material for gases. By analyzing neutron diffraction data and calculations based on density-functional theory, we show that sX is also refillable with nitrogen; the guest:host ratio will be shown to be 2.6(3). Furthermore, we report sX's decomposition behavior and give evidence that it undergoes several transitions into the exotic hydrates sH and sIII that have not been observed at these pressure and temperature conditions-before forming the stable nitrogen hydrate sII.