Ikaite is a metastable hexahydrate of calcium carbonate, forming in aqueous conditions near freezing conditions. Neutron powder diffraction data of synthetic deuterated ikaite, collected at seven temperatures from 4 to 270 K, were refined. The linear thermal expansion coefficients are quite anisotropic, being smaller in the direction of the C–O bond. A review of the hydrogen-bonding scheme around the (CaCO30) ion pair is given and an additional weak potential hydrogen bond is suggested. Temperature-dependent growth of the atomic displacement factors of the carbonate O1 atom agrees with the previous suggestion of a possible low-frequency, hindered librational mode of the carbonate group.

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