Quantitative studies of crystal nucleation at constant supersaturation: experimental data and models

Sear, Richard P.

doi:10.1039/c4ce00344f

Cited by 136 publications

(179 citation statements)

References 75 publications

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“…In fact, having quenched each starting configuration instantaneously from 290 to 205 K, we have to take into account that the relaxation of the system, when nucleation is comparably fast, could lead to a time dependent nucleation rate characterized by a non exponential behavior 68 . Examples of P liq (t) for two very different nucleation events can be found in the supporting information (SI, Figure S2).…”

Section: A System and Computational Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Many Faces of Heterogeneous Ice Nucleation: Interplay Between Surface Morphology and Hydrophobicity

et al. 2015

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What makes a material a good ice nucleating agent? Despite the importance of heterogeneous ice nucleation to a variety of fields, from cloud science to microbiology, major gaps in our understanding of this ubiquitous process still prevent us from answering this question. In this work, we have examined the ability of generic crystalline substrates to promote ice nucleation as a function of the hydrophobicity and the morphology of the surface. Nucleation rates have been obtained by brute-force molecular dynamics simulations of coarse-grained water on top of different surfaces of a model fcc crystal, varying the watersurface interaction and the surface lattice parameter. It turns out that the lattice mismatch of the surface with respect to ice, customarily regarded as the most important requirement for a good ice nucleating agent, is at most desirable but not a requirement. On the other hand, the balance between the morphology of the surface and its hydrophobicity can significantly alter the ice nucleation rate and can also lead to the formation of up to three different faces of ice on the same substrate. We have pinpointed three circumstances where heterogeneous ice nucleation can be promoted by the crystalline surface: i) the formation of a water overlayer that acts as an in-plane template; ii) the emergence of a contact layer buckled in an ice-like manner; and iii) nucleation on compact surfaces with very high interaction strength. We hope that this extensive systematic study will foster future experimental work aimed at testing the physiochemical understanding presented herein.

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Section: A System and Computational Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Many Faces of Heterogeneous Ice Nucleation: Interplay Between Surface Morphology and Hydrophobicity

et al. 2015

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“…It may be remarked that this type of normalization for cooling rates in general makes comparisons between data obtained with different methods more meaningful. Further insight into the meaning of the singular description can be found in Murray et al (2012), Vali (2014) and Sear (2014).…”

Section: Nucleus Spectramentioning

confidence: 99%

Time-dependent freezing rate parcel model

Vali

Snider

2015

Atmos. Chem. Phys.

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Abstract. The time-dependent freezing rate (TDFR) model here described represents the formation of ice particles by immersion freezing within an air parcel. The air parcel trajectory follows an adiabatic ascent and includes a period in time when the parcel remains stationary at the top of its ascent. The description of the ice nucleating particles (INPs) in the air parcel is taken from laboratory experiments with cloud and precipitation samples and is assumed to represent the INP content of the cloud droplets in the parcel. Time dependence is included to account for variations in updraft velocity and for the continued formation of ice particles under isothermal conditions. The magnitudes of these factors are assessed on the basis of laboratory measurements. Results show that both factors give rise to three-fold variations in ice concentration for a realistic range of the input parameters. Refinements of the parameters specifying time dependence and INP concentrations are needed to make the results more specific to different atmospheric aerosol types. The simple model framework described in this paper can be adapted to more elaborate cloud models. The results here presented can help guide decisions on whether to include a time-dependent ice nucleation scheme or a simpler singular description in models.

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“…To describe and interpret the experimental data obtained, three different models from literature were used to fit the experimental data (see Figure 10): i) a model with a single nucleation rate [38], ii) an exponential of a power law (Weibull function) [39] and iii) the model of Pound and La Mer [40]. The corresponding equations are listed below.…”

Section: Selzer Et Al Journal Of Crystallization Process and Techmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Generic Polycarbonate Based Microfluidic Tool to Study Crystal Nucleation in Microdroplets

Selzer¹,

Spiegel²,

Kind³

2018

JCPT

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Crystal nucleation is important to control the product properties in industrial crystallization processes. To investigate crystallization phenomena, methods which rely on microscopic volumes have gained relevance over the last decade. Microfluidic devices are suitable for carrying out crystallization experiments based on a large set of individual droplets in the nanoliter range. In this work, we propose a simple method to manufacture such devices from polycarbonate as an alternative to conventional chips made of poly (dimethylsiloxane). The microfluidic device consists of two main functional parts: A T-junction for droplet generation and a section for storage and observation of up to 400 individual droplets. Using these manufactured devices, it is easy to produce and store highly monodisperse droplets of substances that require either a hydrophilic or hydrophobic surface of the microchannel. Since crystal nucleation is a stochastic process which depends on the sample volume, a reproducible droplet volume is of great importance for crystallization experiments. The versatile applicability of the manufactured devices is demonstrated for substances which are used in different crystallization applications, for example, solution crystallization (aqueous potassium nitrate solution) and melt crystallization (ethylene glycol distearate). Finally, we demonstrate that the manufactured microfluidic devices in our experimental setup can be used to conduct crystal nucleation measurements. Based on these measurements we discuss our results with respect to state-of-the-art nucleation models.

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Quantitative studies of crystal nucleation at constant supersaturation: experimental data and models

Abstract: Crystallisation starts with nucleation, which is rather poorly understood.

Cited by 136 publications

References 75 publications

The Many Faces of Heterogeneous Ice Nucleation: Interplay Between Surface Morphology and Hydrophobicity

The Many Faces of Heterogeneous Ice Nucleation: Interplay Between Surface Morphology and Hydrophobicity

Time-dependent freezing rate parcel model

A Generic Polycarbonate Based Microfluidic Tool to Study Crystal Nucleation in Microdroplets

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