Occupancy Transition in Methane Hydrate II at High Pressure

Methane hydrate is a prominent substance in our solar system as both of its constituents (end members) are abundant on Earth, icy moons and on the outer ice giants (Uranus and Neptune). In this proposal we aim to determine accurately the methane occupancy of the water cages in phase II of methane hydrate at ~1.3 GPa, and explore whether MH-II increases its methane occupancy at this pressure. To achieve this we plan single crystal x-ray diffraction studies.