TY - JOUR
T1 - The moment of initial crystallization captured on functionalized nanoparticles
AU - Machida, Hironobu
AU - Sugahara, Takeshi
AU - Hirasawa, Izumi
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s).
PY - 2021/12
Y1 - 2021/12
N2 - Even if a liquid is cooled below its melting point, the liquid state can be maintained under certain conditions. This state is called supercooling. Spraying fine particles of dry ice or silver iodide induces a phase change from supercooled droplets to ice grains. However, the mechanism by which crystallization seeds diminish supercooling is not well understood. Here, we captured the moment when a cluster, which is the smallest structural unit of a crystal, envelops a silver nanoparticle. As a result of observing the structure of a supercooled aqueous solution of a clathrate hydrate, we found that silver nanoparticles accelerate the formation of clusters, whereas the noble metals palladium, gold and iridium likewise form nanoparticles but do not promote crystallization. Our discoveries elucidate the mechanism of heterogeneous nucleation during a phase change in clathrate hydrates. We anticipate our discovery to be the starting point for the control of supercooling, a technique that can be applied to enhance the production efficiency and quality of manufactured products.
AB - Even if a liquid is cooled below its melting point, the liquid state can be maintained under certain conditions. This state is called supercooling. Spraying fine particles of dry ice or silver iodide induces a phase change from supercooled droplets to ice grains. However, the mechanism by which crystallization seeds diminish supercooling is not well understood. Here, we captured the moment when a cluster, which is the smallest structural unit of a crystal, envelops a silver nanoparticle. As a result of observing the structure of a supercooled aqueous solution of a clathrate hydrate, we found that silver nanoparticles accelerate the formation of clusters, whereas the noble metals palladium, gold and iridium likewise form nanoparticles but do not promote crystallization. Our discoveries elucidate the mechanism of heterogeneous nucleation during a phase change in clathrate hydrates. We anticipate our discovery to be the starting point for the control of supercooling, a technique that can be applied to enhance the production efficiency and quality of manufactured products.
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U2 - 10.1038/s43246-021-00171-w
DO - 10.1038/s43246-021-00171-w
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85126168746
SN - 2662-4443
VL - 2
JO - Communications Materials
JF - Communications Materials
IS - 1
M1 - 66
ER -