Search results for "nucleation"
showing 10 items of 364 documents
Growth of sub-nanometric palladium clusters on boron nitride nanotubes: a DFT study.
2015
A QM/MM investigation is reported dealing with the nucleation and growth of small palladium clusters, up to Pd8, on the outer surface of a suitable model of boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs). It is shown that BNNTs could have a template effect on the cluster growth, which is due to the interplay between Pd–N and Pd–Pd interactions as well as due to the matching of the B3N3 ring and the Pd(111) face arrangement. The values for the cluster adsorption energies reveal a relatively strong physisorption, which suggests that under particular conditions the BNNTs could be used as supports for the preparation of shape-controlled metal clusters.
XRD Line Broadening Studies on Mullite
1996
An X-ray diffraction microstructural study on 110, 220, 001 and 111 peaks has been performed on mullite in the temperature range of primary mullite formation in order to monitor nucleation and growth process. Considering the crystallinity of the starting kaolinites, a greater disorder of the kaolinite has been found to enhance the mullite formation. Isothermal growth is related to a decrease in the Al 2 O 3 content of mullite.
Drastic Variation of the Microstructure Formation in a Charged Sphere Colloidal Model System by Adding Merely Tiny Amounts of Larger Particles
2010
We have investigated the changes of the crystallization scenario in charged sphere colloidal suspensions upon adding tiny amounts of a second, larger and higher charged particle species (size ratio 4.3, charge ratio 1.6). For even minute amounts of added particles, less than 1%, the whole crystallization behavior changes dramatically and for this reason the resulting microstructure of the solidified material. Both nucleation and growth of crystals slow down drastically and considerably coarsen the resulting microstructure. We show that this is related to a considerable decrease of the kinetic prefactors of both nucleation and growth, while at the same time the nucleation barrier height show…
Crystal nucleation versus vitrification in charged colloidal suspensions
2007
We investigated the solidification behaviour of thoroughly deionised aqueous suspensions of polystyrene latex spheres by various optical scattering methods. We found a dramatic increase in the nucleation rate densities with increasing particle number density. Crystalline and nanocrystalline samples showed two relaxation processes on widely separated time scales. For an index-matched suspension of perfluorinated particles an amorphous state was accessible with the glass-typical signature of frozen long-time relaxation. From our results we propose a route into the amorphous state different to that observed in hard-sphere suspensions. It seems that in charged-sphere systems the increased nucle…
Heterogeneous and homogeneous crystal nucleation in colloidal hard-sphere like microgels at low metastabilities
2011
We studied the crystallization kinetics of the homogeneous bulk as well as of the heterogeneous wall crystallization in a colloidal hard sphere model system within the fluid crystal coexistence region. Using time resolved static light scattering and Bragg microscopy we determined several parameters characterizing the crystallization process (induction times, growth coefficients, nucleation rate densities,…). By performing further analysis according to classical nucleation theory we can show that wall crystallization is favored by a vanishing nucleation barrier height leading to the conclusion that a hard sphere crystal completely wets a structureless hard wall.
Crystallization kinetics of colloidal binary mixtures with depletion attraction.
2014
In this work the crystallization kinetics of colloidal binary mixtures with attractive interaction potential (Asakura–Oosawa) has been addressed. Parameters such as fraction of crystals, linear crystal dimension and crystal packing have been quantified in order to understand how the crystal formation is driven in terms of the depth of the attractive potential and the composition of the binary mixture (described by the number ratio). It was found that inside the eutectic triangle, crystallization is mainly governed by nucleation and the crystal packing is close to the close-packing of hard spheres. Moving out from the eutectic triangle towards small component results in the crystallization o…
Crystallization of Vaterite Nanowires by the Cooperative Interaction of Tailor-Made Nucleation Surfaces and Polyelectrolytes
2005
The concepts of template-induced crystallization on self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) and the use of polymer additives are combined into a new strategy, where, through the cooperative interaction of a SAM matrix involved in the nucleation process, poly(acrylic acid), a dissolved polyelectrolyte, and the dissolved ions, hierarchically ordered mineral structures are formed. The adsorption of poly(acrylic acid) to the SAM is monitored using a quartz microbalance. Transmission electron microscopy measurements on samples that are taken from polyacrylate solution in short intervals after the start of the reaction reveals that nanometer-sized particles pre-formed in solution are being attached to t…
Solidification of a colloidal hard sphere like model system approaching and crossing the glass transition
2014
We investigated the process of vitrification and crystallization in a model system of colloidal hard spheres. The kinetics of the solidification process was measured using time resolved static light scattering, while the time evolution of the dynamic properties was determined using time resolved dynamic light scattering. By performing further analysis we confirm that solidification of hard sphere colloids is mediated by precursors. Analyzing the dynamic properties we can show that the long time dynamics and thus the shear rigidity of the metastable melt is highly correlated with the number density of solid clusters (precursors) nucleated. In crystallization these objects convert into highly…
Small Particles and Thin Films of Metals on Ceramic Oxides
1989
This paper is aimed at presenting some recent ideas and experimental results on characterization and properties of small particles and thin films of metals on oxide surfaces. Analysis is restricted to metallic films on well-defined surfaces, mainly monocrystalline surfaces and to ceramic oxides having a marked ionic character. The properties of metallic films obtained by chemical reduction of oxides and those of deposits are compared. Nucleation and growth modes are described. Interfacial properties are analysed in terms of size or thickness effect and in the general framework of the ceramic-metal bonding.
Crystallization in charged two-component suspensions
2005
We report on the crystallization of colloidal crystals comprising of charged particles with different size ratio dispersed in thoroughly deionized water. Single components were characterized carefully and their nucleation behavior was investigated before the preparation of mixtures. Mixtures investigated at constant particle number densities showed body centred cubic structure, conductivity, and shear moduli comply with the assumption of a randomly substituted crystal. Most importantly, for the first time we obtain the dependence of the nucleation rate densities in dependence on the composition and (for one fixed composition) the particle number density. The process of nucleation in random …