The Role of the Electric Field in Electrofreezing

Electrofreezing studies date back to the late 19th century. Since then, it has been intensively investigated, yet the mechanism of this phenomenon is still under dispute. In the presented work, we use a device composed of electrodes covered by a thin protective dielectric layer in order to generate a large electric field/surface charge and separating their effects from those of the electric current/electrochemical reactions. We demonstrate that a surface charge density of up to ∼75 nC/mm² and an electric field of up to ∼1 × 10⁸ V/m, the maximum attainable without water decomposition, do not have an effect on the freezing of supercooled water. These results prove that at supercooling smaller than 11°, even a very large electric field does not order water molecules into an ice-like configuration.