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Researchers Create Room-Temperature Ice XXI Under Extreme Pressure

10/24/2025

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Summary

Story summary

Researchers at the European XFEL created ice XXI by compressing water between two diamonds under about 20,000 atmospheres of pressure.
Ice XXI is solid at room temperature, making it the 21st known ice phase.
The study was published October 10 in Nature Materials.
It suggests more high-temperature metastable ice phases may exist and could inform icy-moon research.

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Story summary

Researchers at the European XFEL created ice XXI by compressing water between two diamonds under about 20,000 atmospheres of pressure.
Ice XXI is solid at room temperature, making it the 21st known ice phase.
The study was published October 10 in Nature Materials.
It suggests more high-temperature metastable ice phases may exist and could inform icy-moon research.