Elastic ice microfibers

Ice is known to be a rigid and brittle crystal that fractures when deformed. We demonstrate that ice grown as single-crystal ice microfibers (IMFs) with diameters ranging from 10 micrometers to less than 800 nanometers is highly elastic. Under cryotemperature, we could reversibly bend the IMFs up to a maximum strain of 10.9%, which approaches the theoretical elastic limit. We also observed a pressure-induced phase transition of ice from Ih to II on the compressive side of sharply bent IMFs. The high optical quality allows for low-loss optical waveguiding and whispering-gallery-mode resonance in our IMFs. The discovery of these flexible ice fibers opens opportunities for exploring ice physics and ice-related technology on micro- and nanometer scales.

Automated summary

Ice grown as single-crystal ice microfibers (IMFs) exhibits high elasticity and can be reversibly bent at low temperatures. A pressure-induced phase transition of ice from Ih to II was observed on the compressive side of sharply bent IMFs. The high optical quality of these flexible ice fibers opens up opportunities for low-loss optical waveguiding and whispering-gallery-mode resonance.