Classical growth of hard-sphere colloidal crystals

Ackerson, Bruce J.; Schätzel, Klaus

doi:10.1103/physreve.52.6448

Cited by 98 publications

(92 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Therefore, diffusion is expected to be important for the transport of particles from the fluid towards the crystallites. This diffusion-limited process is indeed observed for φ slightly larger than φ f [59,14], as the average size L of the crystallites is found to typically grow as L ∝ t 1/2 . A depletion zone with a diameter of the order of the crystal diameter is expected to form around a crystal nucleus.…”

Section: Homogeneous Nucleation Of Hs Crystalmentioning

confidence: 70%

Crystallization in three- and two-dimensional colloidal suspensions

Gasser

2009

J. Phys.: Condens. Matter

236

242

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Despite progress in the understanding of crystal nucleation and crystal growth since the first theories for nucleation were developed, an exact quantitative prediction of the nucleation rates in most systems has remained an unsolved problem. Colloidal suspensions show a phase behavior that is analogous to atomic or molecular systems and serve accordingly as ideal model systems for studying crystal nucleation with an accuracy and depth on a microscopic scale that is hard to reach for atomic or molecular systems. Due to the mesoscopic size of colloidal particles they can be studied in detail on the single-particle level and their dynamics is strongly slowed down in comparison with atomic or molecular systems, such that the formation of a crystal nucleus can be followed in detail. In this review, recent progress in the study of homogeneous and heterogeneous crystal nucleation in colloids and the controlled growth of crystalline colloidal structures is reviewed. All this work has resulted in unprecedented insights into the early stage of nucleation and it is also relevant for a deeper understanding of soft matter materials in general as well as for possible applications based on colloidal suspensions.

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Section: Homogeneous Nucleation Of Hs Crystalmentioning

confidence: 70%

Crystallization in three- and two-dimensional colloidal suspensions

Gasser

2009

J. Phys.: Condens. Matter

236

242

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“…4 In 1995 Bruce Ackerson of Oklahoma State University and the late Klaus Schatzel detected the decrease in the critical nucleus size with supersaturation, observing a small value of around 10 particle radii in the middle of the coexistence region. 5 Crystal growth is often limited by the diffusion of particles to the growing crystal front, resulting in the formation of dendrites mentioned above and shown in figure 3. Evidence for a region of lower concentration in the fluid around a growing crystallite, confirming the diffusion limitation, comes from the shape of the scattering structure factor at low angles, which exhibits a ring of high intensity.…”

Section: Hard Spheres: Entropy Creates Ordermentioning

confidence: 99%

Simple Ordering in Complex Fluids

Gast¹,

Russel²

1998

Physics Today

227

174

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Ordering and the formation of crystals have long fascinated mankind. The reverence bestowed on gem-stones and the fantastic properties attributed to crystalline matter arise from the unique optical, geometric and physical properties of the ordered state. Although scientific inquiry has focused mostly on molecular and atomic crystals, much also can be learned from the study of super-molecular and colloidal arrays.

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“…In order to gain a better fundamental understanding of how to control self-assembly processes in the fabrication of novel structures, many experimental and simulation studies have been devoted to colloidal systems. Experiments [1][2][3][4] and computer simulations [5][6][7] on bulk hard-sphere colloids suggested that the metastable fluid crystallizes and superheated crystals melt via a single-step nucleation process that is well described by classical nucleation theory (CNT) [8]. However, Ostwald's step rule suggests that the kinetic pathway to the most stable state can initially proceed through the nucleation of intermediate, metastable phases [9].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Nonclassical Nucleation in a Solid-Solid Transition of Confined Hard Spheres

Peng

Han

et al. 2015

Phys. Rev. Lett.

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A solid-solid phase transition of colloidal hard spheres confined between two planar hard walls is studied using a combination of molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulation. The transition from a solid consisting of five crystalline layers with square symmetry (5□) to a solid consisting of four layers with triangular symmetry (4△) is shown to occur through a nonclassical nucleation mechanism that involves the initial formation of a precritical liquid cluster, within which the cluster of the stable 4△ phase grows. Free-energy calculations show that the transition occurs in one step, crossing a single free-energy barrier, and that the critical nucleus consists of a small 4△ solid cluster wetted by a metastable liquid. In addition, the liquid cluster and the solid cluster are shown to grow at the planar hard walls. We also find that the critical nucleus size increases with supersaturation, which is at odds with classical nucleation theory. The △-solid-like cluster is shown to contain both face-centered-cubic and hexagonal-close-packed ordered particles. The kinetics of phase transitions plays an important role in condensed-matter physics and materials science. In order to gain a better fundamental understanding of how to control self-assembly processes in the fabrication of novel structures, many experimental and simulation studies have been devoted to colloidal systems. Experiments [1-4] and computer simulations [5][6][7] on bulk hard-sphere colloids suggested that the metastable fluid crystallizes and superheated crystals melt via a single-step nucleation process that is well described by classical nucleation theory (CNT) [8]. However, Ostwald's step rule suggests that the kinetic pathway to the most stable state can initially proceed through the nucleation of intermediate, metastable phases [9]. The effect of a nearby metastable state on nucleation and the occurrence of multistep nucleation processes have been studied in the crystallization of a range of systems including colloids [10,11], proteins [12], and patchy particles [13], and in the crystallization of molecular solids from solution [14].In contrast, the kinetic processes of solid-solid phase transitions, which involve complex structural rearrangements [15], have received considerably less attention [16]. Solid-solid transitions usually occur in a martensitic fashion [17,18] involving the concerted, diffusionless motion of the atoms in the unit cell. Anisotropic stress, rapid quenching, and a small system size have been found to promote martensitic transformations [19]. In colloids, martensitic transitions have been observed in small crystalline clusters [20][21][22] or lattices stretched by external fields [18,[23][24][25]. A solid-solid transition involving an activated nucleation process has recently been experimentally observed at the single-particle level for the first time in colloidal thin-film crystals confined between two glass plates [26]. The equilibrium phase diagram of hard spheres confined between two planar hard walls shows an alternati...

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Classical growth of hard-sphere colloidal crystals

Cited by 98 publications

References 34 publications

Crystallization in three- and two-dimensional colloidal suspensions

Crystallization in three- and two-dimensional colloidal suspensions

Simple Ordering in Complex Fluids

Nonclassical Nucleation in a Solid-Solid Transition of Confined Hard Spheres

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