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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0ACS Central Science

Carbonic Acid (H2CO3) Decomposes to Its Monohydrate (H2CO3·H2O) and CO2 on Decompression

  • Dominik Spahr1,2
  • Lkhamsuren Bayarjargal1
  • Lukas Brüning3
  • Valentin Kovalev1
  • Maxim Bykov3
  • Leonid Dubrovinsky4
  • Victor Milman5
  • Lars Ehm2
  • Björn Winkler1
  • Elena Bykova1
5 affiliations
  1. 1Goethe University Frankfurt, Institute of Geosciences , Altenhöferallee 1 , ,
  2. 2Stony Brook University , , 255 Earth & Space Science Building , , ,
  3. 3Goethe University Frankfurt, Institute of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry , Max-von-Laue-Straβe 7 , ,
  4. 4University of Bayreuth , , ,
  5. 5Dassault Systèmes BIOVIA , 22 Cambridge Science Park , ,
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Abstract

The presence of H2O and CO2 on the icy moons in our solar system and in potentially habitable water worlds makes the understanding of phase stabilities and structure–property relations of phases in the H2O–CO2 system highly relevant for astrophysical research. Here we show that single crystals of carbonic acid monohydrate can be synthesized in a laser-heated diamond anvil cell at low pressures ( ≈3 GPa) either by reacting H2O with CO2 or by decompressing H2CO3 to this pressure. The crystal structure of H2CO3·H2O was obtained using synchrotron single crystal X-ray diffraction. At 3 GPa, H2CO3·H2O crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Pca21 with Z = 8 formula units per unit cell. Density functional theory (DFT)-based calculations satisfactorily reproduce the experimental Raman spectrum, thus corroborating the structural model derived from the diffraction data. DFT enthalpy calculations are also consistent with the formation of H2CO3·H2O by decompression of H2CO3, with a concomitant release of CO2. Carbonic acid and its monohydrate store far more CO2 than filled-ices or clathrates, and hence they provide a mechanism for sequestering large amounts of carbon in icy moons in our solar system or in the icy mantles of water-rich exoplanets.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{spahr2026carbonic,
  title = {{Carbonic Acid (H2CO3) Decomposes to Its Monohydrate (H2CO3·H2O) and CO2 on Decompression}},
  author = {Dominik Spahr and Lkhamsuren Bayarjargal and Lukas Brüning and Valentin Kovalev and Maxim Bykov and Leonid Dubrovinsky and Victor Milman and Lars Ehm and Björn Winkler and Elena Bykova},
  journal = {ACS Central Science},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1021/acscentsci.6c00936},
  url = {https://pubs.acs.org/acscii/article/doi/10.1021/acscentsci.6c00936/5446521/Carbonic-Acid-H2CO3-Decomposes-to-Its-Monohydrate},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Carbonic Acid (H2CO3) Decomposes to Its Monohydrate (H2CO3·H2O) and CO2 on Decompression
AU  - Dominik Spahr
AU  - Lkhamsuren Bayarjargal
AU  - Lukas Brüning
AU  - Valentin Kovalev
AU  - Maxim Bykov
AU  - Leonid Dubrovinsky
AU  - Victor Milman
AU  - Lars Ehm
AU  - Björn Winkler
AU  - Elena Bykova
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/07
JO  - ACS Central Science
DO  - 10.1021/acscentsci.6c00936
UR  - https://pubs.acs.org/acscii/article/doi/10.1021/acscentsci.6c00936/5446521/Carbonic-Acid-H2CO3-Decomposes-to-Its-Monohydrate
AB  - The presence of H2O and CO2 on the icy moons in our solar system and in potentially habitable water worlds makes the understanding of phase stabilities and structure–property relations of phases in the H2O–CO2 system highly relevant for astrophysical research. Here we show that single crystals of carbonic acid monohydrate can be synthesized in a laser-heated diamond anvil cell at low pressures ( ≈3 GPa) either by reacting H2O with CO2 or by decompressing H2CO3 to this pressure. The crystal structure of H2CO3·H2O was obtained using synchrotron single crystal X-ray diffraction. At 3 GPa, H2CO3·H2O crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Pca21 with Z = 8 formula units per unit cell. Density functional theory (DFT)-based calculations satisfactorily reproduce the experimental Raman spectrum, thus corroborating the structural model derived from the diffraction data. DFT enthalpy calculations are also consistent with the formation of H2CO3·H2O by decompression of H2CO3, with a concomitant release of CO2. Carbonic acid and its monohydrate store far more CO2 than filled-ices or clathrates, and hence they provide a mechanism for sequestering large amounts of carbon in icy moons in our solar system or in the icy mantles of water-rich exoplanets.
SN  - 2374-7943
SN  - 2374-7951
ER  -