We all know ice is cold, slippery, and great in lemonade. But here’s a twist: it’s also full of surprises.
Even though water molecules are polar (they have tiny electrical charges), frozen water, your everyday ice cube, is non-polar. That means it can’t generate electricity when squeezed or pressed. No sparks, no buzz.
But wait, a new research in Nature Physics just flipped the script. Scientists discovered that ordinary ice is flexoelectric. If you bend or deform it, it can produce electricity.
This discovery, at the UAB campus, Xi’an Jiaotong University (Xi’an), and Stony Brook University (New York), could have significant implications for the development of future technological devices and help to explain natural phenomena such as the formation of lightning in thunderstorms. It also represents an important step forward in our understanding of the electromechanical properties of ice.
Dr Xin Wen, a member of the ICN2 Oxide Nanophysics Group and one of the study’s lead researchers, said, “We discovered that ice generates electric charge in response to mechanical stress at all temperatures. In addition, we identified a thin ‘ferroelectric’ layer at the surface at temperatures below -113ºC (160K). This means that the ice surface can develop a natural electric polarization, which can be reversed when an external electric field is applied, similar to how the poles of a magnet can be flipped.”
“The surface ferroelectricity is a cool discovery in its own right, as it means that ice may have not just one way to generate electricity but two: ferroelectricity at very low temperatures, and flexoelectricity at higher temperatures, all the way to 0 °C.”
This property causes ice to behave like titanium dioxide, a material used in high-tech gadgets such as sensors and capacitors. But here’s the twist: this icy superpower might also help explain how lightning crackles through stormy skies. Nature meets nanotechnology most innovatively.
We know that lightning occurs when electric charge forms in storm clouds, due to ice particles colliding with each other. These icy collisions generate charge, which eventually explodes as a lightning bolt.
But here’s the mystery: ice isn’t piezoelectric, so squishing it doesn’t make electricity. For years, scientists had been unable to explain how those icy bumps led to sparks. The secret might lie not in the squeeze, but in the bend.
To test ice’s flexoelectricity, researchers placed a block of ice between two metal plates and hooked it up to a measuring device. When they bent the ice, it generated electric signals, just like what’s seen when ice particles collide in thunderstorms.
The results of the study suggest that the flexoelectric spark could help explain how clouds get electrified during thunderstorms and how lightning is formed.
Researchers are now exploring how this frosty phenomenon could be harnessed for real-world tech. Imagine electronic devices made from ice itself, designed to operate in freezing environments such as polar regions or icy moons.
It’s early days, but this discovery could turn ice from a passive chill into an active ingredient in future innovations.
Journal Reference:
- Wen, X., Ma, Q., Mannino, A. et al. Flexoelectricity and surface ferroelectricity of water ice. Nat. Phys. (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41567-025-02995-6