Influence of Random Pinning on the Crystallization Process in Suspensions of Hard Spheres
Open Access
- 1 January 2014
- journal article
- Published by Scientific Research Publishing, Inc. in Journal of Crystallization Process and Technology
- Vol. 04 (02), 89-98
- https://doi.org/10.4236/jcpt.2014.42012
Abstract
We discuss crystal formation in supersaturated suspensions of monodisperse hard spheres with a concentration of hard spheres randomly pinned in space and time. The pinning procedure introduces an external length scale and an external time scale that restrict the accessible number of configureurations and ultimately the number of pathways leading to crystallization. We observe a significant drop in the nucleation rate density at a characteristic pinning concentration that can be directly related to the structure of the critical nucleus and the dynamics of its formation in the unpinned system.Keywords
This publication has 1 reference indexed in Scilit:
- Dynamic Monte Carlo versus Brownian dynamics: A comparison for self-diffusion and crystallization in colloidal fluidsThe Journal of Chemical Physics, 2010