Related papers: Particle-mediated nucleation pathways are imprinte…
The stability of organic solar cells is strongly affected by the morphology of the photoactive layers, whose separated crystalline and/or amorphous phases are kinetically quenched far from their thermodynamic equilibrium during the…
We demonstrate that nascent polymer crystals (i.e., nuclei) are anisotropic entities, with neither spherical nor cylindrical geometry, in contrast to previous assumptions. In fact, cylindrical, spherical, and other high symmetry geometries…
We investigate salt crystallization in porous media that can lead to their disintegration. For sodium sulfate we show for the first time experimentally that when anhydrous crystals are wetted with water, there is very rapid growth of the…
We investigate the early part of the crystal nucleation process in the hard sphere fluid using data produced by computer simulation. We find that hexagonal order manifests continuously in the overcompressed liquid, beginning approximately…
Organic molecular crystals are appealing for next-generation optoelectronic applications, most notably due to their multiexciton generation process that can increase the efficiency of photovoltaic devices. However, a general understanding…
The quantitative phase-field approach has been adapted to model solidification in the presence of Metal Matrix Nanocomposites (MMNCs) in a single-component liquid. Nanoparticles of fixed size and shape are represented by additional fields.…
During the process of biomineralization, organisms utilize various biostrategies to enhance the mechanical durability of their skeletons. In this work, we establish that the presence of high-Mg nanoparticles embedded within lower Mg calcite…
Germanium is the base element in many phase-change materials, i.e. systems that can undergo reversible transformations between their crystalline and amorphous phases. They are widely used in current digital electronics and hold great…
The nucleation and growth of CdS nanoparticles within a polymer matrix was followed by in-situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction. The nanoparticles form by effect of the thermolysis of thiolate precursors at temperatures between 200 and 300…
Silica-carbonate biomorphs are a class of emergent materials, i.e. composite microstructures made of nanometric carbonate crystallites surrounded by amorphous silica. They form via a co-precipitation process in an interplay between alkaline…
Arguably the most ubiquitous construction material in modern civilization, concrete is enabling the development of megacities around the globe together with increasing living standards in developing nations. However, it can be argued that…
Metallic colloids are frequently used in industry and provide understanding of science at microns to nanometers scales along with their applicability for various technologically important applications. Present investigations deal…
We survey our research on modeling the mechanisms of control of uniformity in growth of nanosize and colloid particles. The former are produced as nanocrystals, by burst-nucleation from solution. The latter, colloid-size particles, are…
Millimeter sized single crystals of CaFe$_{1-x}$Co$_x$AsF were grown using a self-flux method. It is found that high-quality single crystals can be grown from three approaches with different initial raw materials. The chemical compositions…
A phase field crystal model is used to investigate the mechanisms of formation and growth of early clusters in quenched/aged dilute binary alloys, a phenomenon typically outside the scope of molecular dynamics time scales. We show that…
We present several recently synthesized nanocomposites consisting of liquid crystals as well as an organic molecular crystal embedded into the nanochannels of mesoporous alumina and silica. As liquid-crystalline mesogens achiral, nematogen…
Organic molecules such as steroids or amino acids form crystals that can facilitate the formation of ice -- arguably the most important phase transition on earth. However, the origin of the ice nucleating ability of organic crystals is…
We investigate quasicrystal-forming soft matter using a two-scale phase field crystal model. At state points near thermodynamic coexistence between bulk quasicrystals and the liquid phase, we find multiple metastable spatially localized…
Piezoelectric quartz SiO2 crystals are widely used in industry as oscillators. As a natural mineral, quartz and its relevant silicates are also of interest of geoscience and mineralogy. However, the nucleation and growth of quartz crystals…
We study the nucleation of crystalline cluster phases in the generalized exponential model with exponent n=4. Due to the finite value of this pair potential for zero separation, at high densities the system forms cluster crystals with…