X-ray-induced Dissociation of H2O and Formation of an O2-H2 Compound at High Pressure

In this work we used inelastic X-ray scattering to study the high-pressure behavior of H2O. At lower pressures and low temperatures, X-ray Raman spectroscopy (XRS) is used for investigating water, ice Ih, ices II and IX. At higher pressures we discovered new radiation chemistry in the H2O system. A new compound composed of molecular oxygen and hydrogen was formed after X-ray irradiation of the ice VII sample. This surprising result opens new avenues for radiation chemistry research and studying molecular interactions in the O2-H2 system. Materials Physics