Early-stage bifurcation of crystallization in a sphere

Mbah CF, Wang J, Englisch S, Bommineni PK, Varela Rosales NR, Spiecker E, Vogel N, Engel M (2023)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2023

Journal

Nature Communications Nature Publishing Group: Nature Communications

Book Volume: 14

Article Number: 5299

Journal Issue: 1

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41001-6

Abstract

Bifurcations in kinetic pathways decide the evolution of a system. An example is crystallization, in which the thermodynamically stable polymorph may not form due to kinetic hindrance. Here, we use confined self-assembly to investigate the interplay of thermodynamics and kinetics in the crystallization pathways of finite clusters. We report the observation of decahedral clusters from colloidal particles in emulsion droplets and show that these decahedral clusters can be thermodynamically stable, just like icosahedral clusters. Our hard sphere simulations reveal how the development of the early nucleus shape passes through a bifurcation that decides the cluster symmetry. A geometric argument explains why decahedral clusters are kinetically hindered and why icosahedral clusters can be dominant even if they are not in the thermodynamic ground state.

Authors with CRIS profile

Junwei Wang Lehrstuhl für Partikelsynthese (LFG) Silvan Englisch Lehrstuhl für Werkstoffwissenschaften (Mikro- und Nanostrukturforschung) Praveen Kumar Bommineni Professur für Modellierung von Selbstorganisationsprozessen Nydia Roxana Varela Rosales Lehrstuhl für Multiscale Simulation of Particulate Systems (MSS) Erdmann Spiecker Lehrstuhl für Werkstoffwissenschaften (Mikro- und Nanostrukturforschung) Nicolas Vogel Professur für Partikelsynthese Michael Engel Lehrstuhl für Multiscale Simulation of Particulate Systems (MSS)

Additional Organisation(s)

Nanoanalysis and Electron Microscopy (CENEM) Lehrstuhl für Werkstoffwissenschaften (Mikro- und Nanostrukturforschung) Interdisziplinäres Zentrum, Center for Nanoanalysis and Electron Microscopy (CENEM)

Related research project(s)

Microscopic 3D characterisation of functional particles and pore structures (SFB 1411 - C01) Design of particulate products (SFB 1411) Jan. 1, 2020 - Dec. 31, 2023

How to cite

APA:

Mbah, C.F., Wang, J., Englisch, S., Bommineni, P.K., Varela Rosales, N.R., Spiecker, E.,... Engel, M. (2023). Early-stage bifurcation of crystallization in a sphere. Nature Communications, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-41001-6

MLA:

Mbah, Chrameh Fru, et al. "Early-stage bifurcation of crystallization in a sphere." Nature Communications 14.1 (2023).

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