Crystal Formation from Metastable Liquids

A special issue of Crystals (ISSN 2073-4352).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2017)

Special Issue Editor

Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science, Daejeon, Korea
Interests: nucleation; liquid structure; thermophysical properties of liquid metals and alloys; glass formation; crystallization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Crystal formation requires metastable state phase, such as supercooled, supercompressed, and supersaturated liquids causing driving force for the transformation. Such metastability of the liquids plays a key role in the mechamism by which the crystal structure and glasses are formed. If we are able to control the degree of metastability in liquids, we could potentially modify phase and size as well as chemical, electrical, magnetic, optical, and mechanical properties of the crystal. Therefore, its intimate knowledge holds great importance in fundamental sciences and applications. Therefore, the special issue on “Crystal formation from metastable liquids” is intended to discuss the detailed pathways of crystallization, nucleation and growth, phase separation, interface property, short and medium range order of liquid and liquid structures, glass formation, and thermophysical properties of liquids and so on.

Potential topics include, but again are not limited to:

  • Crystallization: nucleation and growth, phase separation
  • Glass formation
  • Metastable liquids: supercooling, supercompressing, supersaturating liquids
  • Advanced technical developments for crystal formation from metastable liquids
  • Metastable crystal formation from metastable liquids
  • Effect of liquid-liquid transition on crystallization
  • Structural study of metastable liquids: X-ray, neuron, and raman scattering experiment and so on.
  • Modeling liquid structure

Dr. Geun Woo Lee
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • Crystallization
  • Nucleation
  • Metastable liquids and their thermophysical and structural properties
  • Technical development for controlling the metastability of liquids

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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2442 KiB  
Article
Formation of Cellular Structure on Metastable Solidification of Undercooled Eutectic CoSi-62 at. %
by Sangho Jeon and Douglas M. Matson
Crystals 2017, 7(10), 295; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst7100295 - 30 Sep 2017
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4255
Abstract
The relationship between emissivity, delay time, and surface growth for metastable solidification of CoSi-62 at. % eutectic alloys is reported from undercooling experiments conducted using electrostatic levitation. A fraction of the undercooled melt is first solidified to CoSi2 with subsequent nucleation in [...] Read more.
The relationship between emissivity, delay time, and surface growth for metastable solidification of CoSi-62 at. % eutectic alloys is reported from undercooling experiments conducted using electrostatic levitation. A fraction of the undercooled melt is first solidified to CoSi2 with subsequent nucleation in the mushy-zone of CoSi after an observed delay time. During this double recalescence event, the temperature of the secondary recalescence exceeds the liquidus, indicating that the spectral emissivity has changed. This emissivity change increases with longer delay times during solidification and is linked to the growth of cellular structure on the sample surface. Density measurements showed that the cellular structure begins to grow rapidly at a certain time during metastable solidification. This phenomenon is likely associated with the constitutional undercooling of the remaining melt. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crystal Formation from Metastable Liquids)
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Review

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2017 KiB  
Review
Formation of Metastable Crystals from Supercooled, Supersaturated, and Supercompressed Liquids: Role of Crystal-Liquid Interfacial Free Energy
by Geun Woo Lee
Crystals 2017, 7(11), 326; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst7110326 - 29 Oct 2017
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 7894
Abstract
The formation mechanism of metastable crystals from metastable liquids still remains elusive, although controlling the metastability of crystals and liquids already plays a crucial role in designing new materials in physics, chemistry, biology, and materials science. This review article describes how metastable phases [...] Read more.
The formation mechanism of metastable crystals from metastable liquids still remains elusive, although controlling the metastability of crystals and liquids already plays a crucial role in designing new materials in physics, chemistry, biology, and materials science. This review article describes how metastable phases can be obtained by controlling temperature, concentration, and pressure. In particular, I show the role of crystal-liquid interfacial free energy in the formation of metastable crystals from metastable liquids at a given driving force. In a microscopic viewpoint, local structure similarity between the metastable crystals and liquid determines the crystal-liquid interfacial free energy, and thus the nucleation barrier for the metastable crystals. The effect of the interfacial free energy on the formation of metastable crystals from supercooled, supersaturated, and supercompressed liquids will be demonstrated with metallic liquids, aqueous solutions, and water. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crystal Formation from Metastable Liquids)
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4027 KiB  
Review
Challenges of Handling, Processing, and Studying Liquid and Supercooled Materials at Temperatures above 3000 K with Electrostatic Levitation
by Takehiko Ishikawa and Paul-François Paradis
Crystals 2017, 7(10), 309; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst7100309 - 15 Oct 2017
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 4761
Abstract
Over the last 20 years, great progress has been made in techniques for electrostatic levitation, with innovations such as containerless thermophysical property measurements and combination of levitators with synchrotron radiation source and neutron beams, to name but a few. This review focuses on [...] Read more.
Over the last 20 years, great progress has been made in techniques for electrostatic levitation, with innovations such as containerless thermophysical property measurements and combination of levitators with synchrotron radiation source and neutron beams, to name but a few. This review focuses on the technological developments necessary for handling materials whose melting temperatures are above 3000 K. Although the original electrostatic levitator designed by Rhim et al. allowed the handling, processing, and study of most metals with melting points below 2500 K, several issues appeared, in addition to the risk of contamination, when metals such as Os, Re, and W were processed. This paper describes the procedures and the innovations that made successful levitation and the study of refractory metals at extreme temperatures (>3000 K) possible; namely, sample handling, electrode design (shape and material), levitation initiation, laser heating configuration, and UV range imaging. Typical results are also presented, putting emphasis on the measurements of density, surface tension, and viscosity of refractory materials in their liquid and supercooled phases. The data obtained are exemplified by tungsten, which has the highest melting temperature among metals (and is second only to carbon in the periodic table), rhenium and osmium. The remaining technical difficulties such as temperature measurement and evaporation are discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crystal Formation from Metastable Liquids)
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288 KiB  
Review
An Overview on Magnetic Field and Electric Field Interactions with Ice Crystallisation; Application in the Case of Frozen Food
by Piyush Kumar Jha, Epameinondas Xanthakis, Vanessa Jury and Alain Le-Bail
Crystals 2017, 7(10), 299; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst7100299 - 04 Oct 2017
Cited by 68 | Viewed by 13126
Abstract
Ice nucleation is a stochastic process and it is very difficult to be controlled. Freezing technologies and more specifically crystallisation assisted by magnetic, electric and electromagnetic fields have the capability to interact with nucleation. Static magnetic field (SMF) may affect matter crystallisation; however, [...] Read more.
Ice nucleation is a stochastic process and it is very difficult to be controlled. Freezing technologies and more specifically crystallisation assisted by magnetic, electric and electromagnetic fields have the capability to interact with nucleation. Static magnetic field (SMF) may affect matter crystallisation; however, this is still under debate in the literature. Static electric field (SEF) has a significant effect on crystallisation; this has been evidenced experimentally and confirmed by the theory. Oscillating magnetic field induces an oscillating electric field and is also expected to interact with water crystallisation. Oscillating electromagnetic fields interact with water, perturb and even disrupt hydrogen bonds, which in turn are thought to increase the degree of supercooling and to generate numerous fine ice crystals. Based on the literature, it seems that the frequency has an influence on the above-mentioned phenomena. This review article summarizes the fundamentals of freezing under magnetic, electric and electromagnetic fields, as well as their applicability and potentials within the food industry. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crystal Formation from Metastable Liquids)
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