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Influence of Random Pinning on the Crystallization Process in Suspensions of Hard Spheres

¹ Theory of Soft Condensed Matter, Université du Luxembourg, Luxembourg, Luxembourg
² Theory of Soft Condensed Matter, Université du Luxembourg, Luxembourg, Luxembourg

Journal of Crystallization Process and Technology·Volume 04 (2014)·Pages 89–98·Published 3 April 2014·DOI10.4236/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.

KeywordsNucleationRandom PinningConfinementHard Spheres

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Influence of Random Pinning on the Crystallization Process in Suspensions of Hard Spheres

Abstract

References (33)