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Main Authors: Zhao, Qiaoxiao, Xu, Meiling, Li, Dong, Gao, Zhicheng, Zhou, Yudian, Liu, Wenbo, Chen, Jingyan, Cheng, Peng, Meng, Sheng, Wu, Kehui, Wang, Yanchao, Chen, Lan, Feng, Baojie
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.22460
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author Zhao, Qiaoxiao
Xu, Meiling
Li, Dong
Gao, Zhicheng
Zhou, Yudian
Liu, Wenbo
Chen, Jingyan
Cheng, Peng
Meng, Sheng
Wu, Kehui
Wang, Yanchao
Chen, Lan
Feng, Baojie
author_facet Zhao, Qiaoxiao
Xu, Meiling
Li, Dong
Gao, Zhicheng
Zhou, Yudian
Liu, Wenbo
Chen, Jingyan
Cheng, Peng
Meng, Sheng
Wu, Kehui
Wang, Yanchao
Chen, Lan
Feng, Baojie
contents Understanding water-metal interactions is central to disciplines spanning catalysis, electrochemistry, and atmospheric science. Monolayer ice phases are well established on hydrophilic surfaces, where strong water-substrate interactions stabilize ordered hydrogen-bond networks. In contrast, their formation on hydrophobic metals has been deemed ther-modynamically unfavourable, with water typically assembling into amorphous films, three-dimensional crystallites, or interlocked bilayer ice. Here, we demonstrate the synthesis of a monolayer ice phase on the hydrophobic Au(111) surface using a low-energy-electron-assisted growth method. Combined experimental characterizations including low-energy electron diffraction, angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, complemented by first-principles calculations, prove that the monolayer ice phase composes of intact water molecules. This approach provides a generalizable strategy for stabilizing ordered two-dimensional ice on inert substrates and offers new insight into the interplay between water and low-energy electrons at hydrophobic interfaces.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_22460
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Synthesis of Monolayer Ice on a Hydrophobic Metal Surface
Zhao, Qiaoxiao
Xu, Meiling
Li, Dong
Gao, Zhicheng
Zhou, Yudian
Liu, Wenbo
Chen, Jingyan
Cheng, Peng
Meng, Sheng
Wu, Kehui
Wang, Yanchao
Chen, Lan
Feng, Baojie
Materials Science
Chemical Physics
Computational Physics
Understanding water-metal interactions is central to disciplines spanning catalysis, electrochemistry, and atmospheric science. Monolayer ice phases are well established on hydrophilic surfaces, where strong water-substrate interactions stabilize ordered hydrogen-bond networks. In contrast, their formation on hydrophobic metals has been deemed ther-modynamically unfavourable, with water typically assembling into amorphous films, three-dimensional crystallites, or interlocked bilayer ice. Here, we demonstrate the synthesis of a monolayer ice phase on the hydrophobic Au(111) surface using a low-energy-electron-assisted growth method. Combined experimental characterizations including low-energy electron diffraction, angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, complemented by first-principles calculations, prove that the monolayer ice phase composes of intact water molecules. This approach provides a generalizable strategy for stabilizing ordered two-dimensional ice on inert substrates and offers new insight into the interplay between water and low-energy electrons at hydrophobic interfaces.
title Synthesis of Monolayer Ice on a Hydrophobic Metal Surface
topic Materials Science
Chemical Physics
Computational Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.22460