Among outstanding issues still to be understood regarding the clathrate hydrates are the mechanism of the processes involved in the formation and decomposition of clathrates: nucleation, decomposition, and the memory effect during reformation. The latter involves the shorter induction times required for solutions of decomposed hydrate to nucleate as compared to those for freshly prepared solutions. The formation of the clathrate hydrate phases of insoluble gases in water is accompanied by a ∼6000 fold concentration of the gas content in the solid phase compared to the aqueous phase from which it forms. The nucleation mechanism for the solid hydrate which allows the delivery of such high concentration of gas and water in one location has been the subject of much experimental and computational study. While these studies have improved our understanding of the nucleation process, many unknown aspects remain. These developments are described in this Opinion.

关于包合物水合物的尚未解决的突出问题是包合物的形成和分解所涉及的过程机理：成核，分解和重整过程中的记忆效应。与新鲜制备的溶液相比，后者涉及分解的水合物溶液成核所需的较短诱导时间。水中不溶性气体的笼形水合物相的形成与固相中形成的水​​相相比，固相中的气体含量约有6000倍的浓度。固体水合物的成核机理使得在一个位置输送如此高浓度的气体和水成为许多实验和计算研究的主题。这些研究虽然增进了我们对成核过程的理解，但仍然存在许多未知的方面。这些发展在本意见中进行了描述。