Methanol storage in high-pressure clathrate hydrates as a prolonged source of methane in large ocean worlds

Methanol storage in high-pressure clathrate hydrates as a prolonged source of methane in large ocean worlds | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Methanol storage in high-pressure clathrate hydrates as a prolonged source of methane in large ocean worlds Anna Pakhomova, Baptiste Journaux, Alexander Kurnosov, Tiziana Boffa Ballaran, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5600760/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Large ocean worlds in the solar system and in other planetary systems likely contain significant fraction of volatile and organic compounds, which condition their habitability potential. Some of these compounds are known to combine with water molecules to form clathrate hydrates under pressure. However, the clathration process in complex compositions and under high pressures representative of these ocean worlds still remain unexplored. Herein we report on the first experimental results on the characterization of the pressure-induced transitional pathway of a mixed clathrate hydrate. We studied crystalline compounds forming in two systems: binary tetrahydrofuran (THF)-H2O that served as a reference system, and ternary THF-methanol (MeOH)-H2O in order to address the role of methanol at high-pressure. We show that high pressure facilitates the incorporation of methanol in clathrate structure, with formation of two mixed clathrate hydrates, THF•xMeOH•17H2O (sII) and THF•0.75MeOH•10H2O. The preferential trapping of methanol at high-pressure offers an explanation for the non-detection of methanol on surfaces of large ocean worlds, while more common on small icy worlds. Moreover, the hydrogenolysis of enclathrated primordial methanol into methane presents a novel hypothesis for the deep-seated endogenic source of methane in Titan and potentially for other ocean worlds. Earth and environmental sciences/Planetary science/Mineralogy Physical sciences/Physics/Chemical physics Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files THFH2O6hydratesO.cif Dataset 2 THFH2O64s7hydrate.cif Dataset 1 THFMeOHH2OsIIhydrate0p29GPa.cif Dataset 6 THFH2O8p2hydrate.cif Dataset 3 THFMeOHH2OsIIhydrate0p15GPa.cif Dataset 5 THFMeOHH2OsIIhydrate0p58GPa.cif Dataset 7 THFMeOHH2OsIIhydrate0p92GPa.cif Dataset 8 SupplementaryPakhomova.pdf Supplementary Information THFMeOHH2O10hydrate.cif Dataset 4 Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5600760","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":399353628,"identity":"d5ee3e3a-166d-46ff-8b7f-6c40aa11b6e8","order_by":0,"name":"Anna 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