Eur. Phys. J. D (2012) 66: 170
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjd/e2012-30047-y

Regular Article

Induction of crystal growth in alkali-halide aggregates by means of internal seeding

Centre for Molecular Sciences and Materials, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisboa, Campo Grande, Bloco C8, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal

^a e-mail: reis@fc.ul.pt

Received: 18 January 2012
Received in final form: 23 April 2012
Published online: 29 June 2012

Abstract

Following our previous work, new results for seed induced nucleation and crystal growth in nano droplets are presented. A new method that allows to place the seed inside the droplet is presented. The new results show a considerable independence of the processes of nucleation and crystal growth regarding the size of the host droplet. The crystal growth model also previously reported was applied giving good predictions. It supports more insights into the growth trends for different seed placements. Based on its deviation from the ideal condition considered in the crystal growth model development, a reinterpretation for the outside seeding behavior is presented. Additionally, the present results strongly sustain a non-self-wetting behavior for ionic salts aggregates.