| Issue |
EPL
Volume 105, Number 2, January 2014
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Article Number | 26001 | |
| Number of page(s) | 5 | |
| Section | Condensed Matter: Structural, Mechanical and Thermal Properties | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1209/0295-5075/105/26001 | |
| Published online | 06 February 2014 | |
Solvent hydrodynamics speed up crystal nucleation in suspensions of hard spheres
1 Institut für Physik, Johannes Gutenberg Universität - D-55099, Mainz, Germany
2 Theory of Soft Condensed Matter, Université du Luxembourg - L-1511 Luxembourg, Luxembourg
3 Institut für Materialwissenschaft, Technische Universität Darmstadt - D-64287 Darmstadt, Germany
Received: 26 November 2013
Accepted: 8 January 2014
We present a computer simulation study on the crystal nucleation process in suspensions of hard spheres, fully taking into account the solvent hydrodynamics. If the dynamics of crystallization in this system were purely diffusive, the crystal nucleation rate would be inversely proportional to the solvent viscosity. However, we observe that the nucleation rate is enhanced at high viscosities with respect to the diffusive behaviour. This effect might explain the large discrepancy between the nuclation rates obtained by simulation and experiment that have been reported in the literature so far.
PACS: 64.70.pv – Colloids / 64.75.Gh – Phase separation and segregation in model systems (hard spheres, Lennard-Jones, etc.) / 64.60.qj – Studies of nucleation in specific substances
© EPLA, 2014
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