Patrick Wette et al 2009 J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 21 464115 doi:10.1088/0953-8984/21/46/464115
Patrick Wette1, Andreas Engelbrecht2, Roushdey Salh2, Ina Klassen1, Dirk Menke1, Dieter M Herlach1, Stephan V Roth3 and Hans Joachim Schöpe2
Show affiliationsWe studied the competition between heterogeneous and homogeneous nucleation of an aqueous suspension of charged colloidal spheres close to the container walls. Samples of equilibrium crystalline structure were shear-melted and the metastable melt left to solidify after the cessation of shear. The crystallization kinetics was monitored using time-resolved scattering techniques: at low particle number densities n we applied an improved static light scattering method while at large particle concentrations ultra-small-angle x-ray scattering was applied for the first time. Our results show some unexpected behavior: the heterogeneous nucleation at the container walls is delayed in comparison to the homogeneous bulk nucleation and its rate density appears surprisingly slightly smaller, demonstrating the complexity of the observed crystallization process.
Soft matter, liquids and polymers
Issue 46 (18 November 2009)
Received 22 April 2009, in final form 17 June 2009
Published 27 October 2009
Patrick Wette et al 2009 J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 21 464115
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